Coffee
by Writer25
Summary: I spent more than five years trying to forget the greatest heartbreak of my life. I grew up, moved in with Olga, and tried to figure out what I was going to do with my life. So of all the coffee shops in the city, why did he have to come to mine? (Set after Jungle Movie and the Patakis)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- I know its super late but I used to (still do) love this pairing and this show. This would take place after FTi, Jungle Movie, and The Patakis. I may or may not decide to make this longer depending on the response I get. Please enjoy and don't be afraid to review.**

Arnold had a cup of coffee on the table in front of him, and a book held up to his face. To anyone else it would look like he was studying, but as he learned long ago looks could be deceiving. Arnold's coffee had long since grown cold and he actually hadn't read a single word in quite some time.

Instead his eyes remained locked on the blond barista at the register.

Five years. It had been five since he had seen her last. She had tormented him for years since preschool but during FTi she had confessed her love for him and even kissed him. She had taken back of course and they blamed it on "heat of the moment", but deep down they both knew what she confessed was real. And then after they got back from the island he had to admit that his feelings for her went beyond human kindness. Far beyond human kindness.

They had a relationship. A romantic relationship. It was fun for a while and it could have gone deep, but there had been problems. They fought constantly. While their best friends' relationship sailed smoothly, their relationship was stormy. Eventually they broke up and Arnold moved away to be with his parents for a while.

And now he was back in Hillwood. Maybe for a month, maybe a year, maybe for good, he didn't know yet. Arnold told his best friend Gerald and his grandparents he was coming and he begged them not to tell her. Their relationship hadn't ended badly, but still… there was no telling with Helga G. Pataki.

Arnold continued to watch her over the edge of his book, absentmindedly turning the page. Unsurprisingly, Helga had grown taller and curvier since he saw her last. Her sunny blonde hair was pulled back into a messy knot at the base of her neck. The unibrow was still present but it had been neatly trimmed and she had two pink studs in each ear. And even though her face was still round she was looking less like a girl and more like a woman.

"Look pal, I don't care what other coffee shop you saw it at, we don't have any pumpkin whipped cream!" Helga snapped irritably at a customer. "Now if you want I can give your pumpkin spice another shot of pumpkin for free, or I can toss you out on your butt. Now what's it gonna be?"

Arnold's lips twitched up in a smile. Yep, still the same old Helga. Fiery, irritable, passionate Helga.

After the customer left with his drink, Helga left from behind the counter, picked up a plastic bin, and started busing tables. Arnold took a quick glance around. It was only him and a few customers left in the store. He licked his dry lips. He should say something. Let her know he was there. When Arnold had come in it was a different barista manning the register and Helga had been nowhere to be seen so he had yet to say hi to her. He should say hi. They ended as friends so they should be able to great each other as friends right?

But as she neared his table, Arnold chose instead to bury his face into his book and pray that she didn't notice him.

"Hey man, need a fresh cup?" Helga asked, suddenly in front of him.

"Um, no thanks." He said quickly, hoping she wouldn't recognize his voice. "I'm good."

"You sure?" Helga persisted. "I'm in a good mood right now so don't ask me again in five minutes."

"R-really, I'm good." He said burying himself deeper in his book.

Helga shrugged and then finally moved on. When she was far enough away Arnold left out a sigh and slumped in his seat.

He was a coward. Helga had called him that once when they were together. A guy had said something nasty about her unibrow and when Arnold refused to retaliate Helga had called him a coward and one of their infamous fights began. They didn't speak for a week until Arnold grudgingly made up with her. Even then he had still held a slight grudge against her. But now he realized it was true.

An hour went by Helga came back around to take his stale cup of coffee without a word and he let her walk away still too afraid to say anything.

Again he licked his dry lips. He had to say something, he had so say something. He opened his mouth to speak, but then Helga moved on and began cleaning the next table, whistling a tune under her breath. Arnold looked up and realized that he was the last customer in the shop and it was getting dark outside and which meant Helga was probably closing. There was no getting around it now. It was now or never. He closed his eyes and took a breath, searching and rehearsing the right words to say.

"Hey Arnold!" Helga's voice suddenly cut through the air.

Arnold looked up in shock and saw her looking at him with her arms folded across her chest. She gave him a half smile and opened the door.

"We're closed. Get out so I can go home." She said.

Arnold smiled, feeling an enormous weight lifted off his chest. "Coming, Helga."

He stood outside patiently and waited while Helga locked up the store with a set of keys. Up close Arnold could see that she was wearing pink lip gloss.

"So," He started. "How'd you know it was me?"

Helga raised half her eyebrow. "Seriously football head? Are there that many people with your oh so rare condition?"

"Right. My head is kind of a dead get away." He chuckled.

"Actually I was talking about your overwhelming sense of justice and good will." Helga rolled her eyes. "Of course I meant you're stupid football shaped head."

Arnold smiled. It both was and wasn't an insult. It had always depended on her mood.

They began walking together in silence, probably each searching for something to say. Even though Arnold had plenty of time to think of something on his way back to Hillwood, he never could just think of the right words to string together. Before he could say anything though, Helga beat him to the punch yet again.

"So how's it been, Arnoldo?" She asked. "How's life treatin' ya?"

"Pretty good I guess." He shrugged. "Been travelling with my parents and I just had my nineteenth birthday. How about you?"

"Alright I guess. Moved in with Olga while I figure out whether or not I want to go to college. Working in that stupid coffee shop since junior year of high school. All in all pretty boring."

"Cool." Arnold kept his tone neutral but he felt far from that.

Part of him felt irritated. Helga was talking to him as if only a few weeks had passed and they had been nothing more than classmates, instead of a couple. Hadn't she realized five whole years had passed? Did she even realize he had been gone? Did she even know that he…

But another part of him understood completely. Five years was a long time. Especially with the sort of couple they had been. Heck, even he was a little relieved when they decided to break things off.

"So are you planning on following me home or what, Arnoldo?" Helga asked impatiently. "Do you need some place to stay or something?"

"Can't I just talk to you for a minute?" Arnold said irritably. "I haven't seen you in years remember?"

"Yeah I know that." Helga mumbled. "But don't you have other old friends? Geraldo? Stinky? Curly? Sid?"

Arnold frowned. "Aren't you even a little happy to see me Helga? I'm glad to see you? At least I was!"

Helga's lips twitched up in a small smile and her blue eyes twinkled. "My heart hadn't stop pounding since I saw that football shaped head of yours."

Arnold stopped walking for a minute out of sheer surprise. Her constant mood swings still baffled him. She glanced at him over her shoulder, half an eyebrow raised.

"You coming or what? I ain't got all day." She snapped.

"Yeah, yeah hold your horses." He quickly caught up with her and was dismayed to find that he was still an inch or two shorter than her.

Helga chewed on her lower lip for a minute and then impatiently pulled her hair out of its knot. It fell well past her shoulders messily and he caught the faintest whiff of her vanilla shampoo.

"So," She said slowly. "How long are you staying? A week?"

"I'm not sure yet," Arnold admitted with a shrug. "I have… a lot of things to consider."

Helga nodded and he wondered what she was thinking. Was she relieved? Disappointed? Or maybe she just didn't care? It almost didn't seem possible. Helga had held so much passion for him not that long ago. Even if she was downright furious with him, wanted to cream him, it still would have made more sense than this indifference.

Arnold shoved his hands deep in his pockets. Helga started whistling again. They eventually came up to a small house. Helga climbed the steps of the porch and turned to look at him.

"Wanna soda or something? I didn't actually see you drink any coffee."

"Sure sounds good."

Helga nodded and went inside, leaving the door ajar. Arnold leaned against the stone sides of the porch and waited. His mind wandered back to Helga's earlier question of why he was with her and not visiting someone else. Of course he visited his grandparents and Gerald the first day he got back, but why exactly was he spending so much time with Helga?

"She was my first serious girlfriend." Arnold muttered to himself. "My first girlfriend period. It would be rude not to spend at least a day with her."

"I hope you still like Yahoo." Helga came back with two bottles and handed one to him. "It's all we had in the fridge."

"Thanks." He took one gratefully. "It's been a while since I had soda that wasn't mango or coconut flavored."

"That actually sounds awesome." Helga chuckled. "The mango, not the coconut. Coconut soda sounds disgusting."

Arnold laughed. "Trust me. It's worse than it sounds."

There was considerably less conversation after that. They just drank and Arnold told her a few stories about his adventures. Helga listened politely but didn't say much. Their eyes met every few moments but Helga always looked away quickly and took another sip of soda.

Again Arnold was confused and a little frustrated by her demeanor towards him. Where was the Helga that loved him so fiercely? The day he left she could barely look at him, and her eyes had been red and watery. Now he was back, why wasn't she throwing her arms around him? Or threatening to pummel him? Did she even care about him anymore!?

"How come you never wrote me back!?" He asked suddenly angry. "I wrote you over and over again for a year! For almost two years! How come you never wrote me back?"

Arnold's face felt hot and his emerald eyes searched her blue ones. Helga looked surprised and a thousand emotions seemed to flit across her face. At first he thought she would get angry or even deny it. But then she took a heavy breath and turned her head.

"I did write you. Arnold." She said quietly. "I wrote you a three page letter every day for three years."

Arnold frowned. "Oh really, Helga? I guess a monkey ate them huh?"

"I wrote, Arnold." Helga repeated softly. "I wrote the letter, put it in an envelope, I even put it in the mail box. But then I just took it out again and kept it."

Arnold's anger quickly disappeared. Helga's tone was genuine and her eyes shone with tears. His hand itched to reach out to her but he gripped the stone railing instead.

"Why? Why didn't you send them to me? I waited and waited and-"

Helga snorted out a laugh and hastily brushed a tear away. She gave him a look that was part amused and part angry.

"You broke up with me, doi!" She scoffed. "I thought you ran to San Lorenzo to get away from your psycho ex-girlfriend, not be bombarded with letter after letter saying how much I missed you and still thought about you."

Arnold's jaw dropped. "Helga," he paused to get his thoughts together. "Helga we both broke up because we thought it was best, I never thought of you as a psycho, and I went to San Lorenzo to see my parents, not get away from you. I care about you a lot Helga, even when we weren't a couple anymore. Why do you think I wrote you so often? I didn't even write my grandparents or Gerald as much as I wrote you. Why do you think I did that?"

"Because you're a goody-two shoes saint who felt it was the right thing to do." Helga said dryly. "Now if you'll excuse me Arnoldo it's late and I need to get dinner started."

She stood up and started to go inside but Arnold quickly grabbed her arm. She tensed up and threw him a glare but at least she didn't move.

"Helga," He moved slowly until he was standing close to her.

She sighed in irritation and turned to face him completely. "What?"

"I missed you." Arnold said, moving his hand down to hold her hand. "I missed you a lot."

Helga blushed and tried to look away, but Arnold turned her face towards his. She stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and apprehension. But what he said was the truth. He just didn't realize it until he saw her again in person. Even when he was watching her from afar in the coffee shop he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"I've missed you so much." Arnold brushed his mouth against hers.

Tears welled up in Helga's eyes and she threw her arms around his shoulders.

"Oh Arnold!" She cried, hugging him close. "I missed you too!"

The breath left his body due to the crushing force of her hug, but he just laughed and hugged her back. Now it felt like he was home.


	2. Chapter 2

_Helga felt tears sting her eyes as they sat on the park bench together. They sat close enough to touch but honestly that was the last thing either of them wanted right now. The sky above them was bright blue, completely contradicting the current mood. Arnold sighed and spoke first._

 _"Is this really working?" He asked with quiet sadness._

 _Helga shrugged. "Does it feel like it's working Bucko?"_

 _"No," Arnold admitted in a whisper. "Gerald and Phoebe never fight like we do."_

 _"That's because they're perfect for each other," Helga mumbled. A bit a jealousy at ate her. She wanted to be happy for her best friend but it just made her own failing relationship hurt even more._

 _Arnold hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Then maybe... we should... end things between us."_

 _There is was. The words Helga both dreaded and expected. Her eyes closed as two tears slipped from her eyes and traced down her cheeks._

 _"Or we could try to work things out," Arnold said in a quick, panicky voice. "I-If you want to try-"_

 _Helga quickly shook her head. Arnold was alarmed by her tears nothing more. Of course he would offer to work things out between them, it was his nature to always try and work out problems. But Helga knew he was done with her. He had been for a while._

 _"Helga-"_

 _"I'm fine." Helga quickly wiped her eyes and stood up. "And no, you're right. This isn't working and we should just end things."_

 _She looked down at Arnold and saw a mixture of sadness and relief. Pity and relief. He felt sorry for her but relieved to no longer be dating her. More tears started to sting Helga's eyes so she looked at the ground so he wouldn't see._

 _"So, I guess I'll see you around school?" She asked._

 _"We can still be friends right?" Arnold asked instead. "I know we didn't work as boyfriend and girlfriend, but I still want us to be friends."_

 _Friends? Friends!? A brief storm of anger broke through the sadness. She loved Arnold, wanted to give him her heart and soul. Was it her fault that she got angry sometimes and lashed out at everyone including him!? Was it her fault that he was too weak spined to handle her flare ups!?_

 _Helga was just about to tell him off when self-loathing took over the anger. Suddenly she felt drained and her shoulders sagged. Truth be told, she loved Arnold too much for her own good. If she couldn't have him as her boyfriend or her lover, she would have to be content with having him as a friend, no matter how much it broke her heart._

 _"Sure Arnold," Helga said._

* * *

The memory was still fresh in my mind as the hot water poured over my body. I thought that it would fade away, but it stayed stubbornly embedded like a bad splinter. And as if that wasn't bad enough, seeing Arnold yesterday tore down the floodgates of my long-buried passion for him. The feather-light brush of his lips still burned against my mouth and the feeling of his arms tight around my body still made me shiver.

"Ah! No Helga, you're better than this!" I berated myself quickly. "He missed you because he was away from home for so long. He nearly kissed you because of nostalgia, nothing more. So stop morning over him!"

The water started to turn cold so I quickly shut the shower off and grabbed my towel. A yawn escaped my lips. I had only been an official high school graduate for about two weeks, but I still hadn't been able to shake the habit of waking up early.

"Stupid school." I muttered, shoving a toothbrush loaded with toothpaste in my mouth. "What a joke."

I still wasn't sure if I even wanted to even go to college. Olga and Phoebe thought I should, big Bob laughed in my face and said I could probably scrape by community college then come work for his beeper store.

"Helga!" Olga called from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready. Come down before it gets's cold baby sister!"

"Hold ya horses, I'll be right down!" I yelled back.

Glancing at the mirror, I saw that the foam from the toothpaste made me look rabid. I snarled at my reflection and a demented face smirked back at me.

"You still got the old fire girl." I grinned.

"HELGA GERALDINE PATAKI!" Olga hollared.

I groaned in annoyance and spat out the toothpaste. "I'll get down there when I get there!"

It annoyed the crap out of me when she did that, acting like she was my mom. Before my sister completely lost her crap I quickly went into my room to put some clothes on. Jeans, a relatively clean t-shirt, and my studs. My cell phone began ringing on my nightstand. The caller told me it was Phoebe calling.

"Sup, Pheebs?" I answered, quickly tearing a brush through her damp hair.

"Good morning Helga," She piped sweetly. "How are you this morning?"

"Trying to break this nasty habit of waking up early. You?"

"I for one find it refreshing to wake up early." I could practically hear Phoebe beaming. "Have you tried doing some yoga or tai chi when you first wake up? Good exercise both awakens the brains and the muscles you know."

I laughed. "I'll have to get back to you on that Pheebs."

My hair was still pretty damp so I tied it back into a ponytail then headed downstairs before Olga came looking for me. I kept talking to Phoebe as I reached the kitchen and Olga's ready smile quickly turned into a frown when she saw me talking on the phone.

I rolled my eyes and sat down at the table. "Listen Pheebs, Olga's giving the death glare so I have to go. Laters."

Olga waited until I hung up the phone before putting down a plate of eggs florentine in front of me. She was wearing her usual business dress with her black heels and gold bangle bracelet.

"Geez Olga, you ever just make burnt toast and scrambled eggs?" I laughed digging into the spinach and egg concoction.

"Oh hush baby sister, you know you need to eat better." Olga laughed and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Now I have about five minutes before I have to leave for work. Anything you would like to talk about?"

I chewed my food for a little before answering. "Arnold's back."

"Oh?" Olga's lips turned up in an insufferable knowing smile. "Is that why you were so flushed last night baby sister?"

"Nothing happened alright!" I felt my ears heat up. "He walked me home from the coffee shop, we talked for a few minutes, that's it. So don't make a big deal out of it okay?"

But Olga already had that stupid, dreamy look on her face. "How absolutely, wonderfully romantic. Two long lost lovers separated by fate and premature emotions brought together again in their adulthood."

"Ugh, don't use that "A" word, I just got out of high school. Let me enjoy being a juvenile for a while." I complained.

Olga kept smiling and gushing though and never had I so much regretted opening my big mouth to her about Arnold in the first place. As her sister continued talking about true love, fate, and all that nonsense, I took out my phone under the table and texted Phoebe.

 **11:30 am and my sister is already giving me a headache.** I texted. **I need movies and junk food. Stat.**

Pheebs replied within minutes, but I frowned at her response.

 **Sorry Helga. I just made plans with Gerald to go over numbers for tuition costs for the colleges we were accepted to. You're welcome to join us :)**

I flinched. I still had three applications and four unfinished essays waiting on my computer. Let alone trying to figure out how to pay for them.

 **Thnks but no thnks.** I texted back. **Save some time for late movie tho? Jst us plz?**

 **Scheduling ;)**

"Ah!" Olga squeaked and looked at her watch. "Here I am blabbing on and I'm running late for work! Gotta go baby sister, see you late tonight."

She poured her remaining coffee down the sink, pecked me on the head, then ran out the kitchen, grabbing her purse and keys on the way out. I chuckled to myself and finished eating my cold breakfast. Normally I didn't mind being alone and at peace, but not being able to hang with Phoebe left my day wide open. I was off work for the first time in three weeks but had nothing to do.

"Well," I said eyeing the breakfast dishes Olga left behind. "She cooked breakfast, I guess I could bust some suds for her."

Filling the sink with hot water and dish soap, I sunk my arms into the water and got to work. As I washed my thoughts inevitably drifted to Arnold. I wondered if he was going to go to college. Doi, of course he would, it was more the question of where. And with his travelling experience with his parents and his all around perfectness, any college in the country would probably love him. And once Arnold went away to college or back overseas with his parents he would once again be out of her life and she would be out of his thoughts.

"Ugh, come on Helga stop torturing yourself." I mumbled to myself. "He's probably not spending nearly as much energy thinking about you. He's probably visiting his friends, his grandparents or... writing to whatever girlfriend he left behind."

I shook my head in annoyance. That settled it. I needed to find a new hobby. Maybe get back into sports or watch more movies. Anything to get my mind off of that stupid, blond, football head.

The doorbell rang and I expected it to be a frantic Olga, forgetting something.

"Geez Olga, airheaded much?" I laughed as I opened the door, but then froze in shock.

That stupid, blond football head that I had just put out of my mind was standing at my door with that charming roguish grin on his face.

"Hey Helga," He smiled. "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out with me today?"

It was a simple question. An old friend wanted to hang out with another old friend. It was just hanging out. Nothing like a date or anything. Just two old friends hanging out casual like. Even though my brain knew it was nothing more than casual, my heart wouldn't stop fluttering in my chest. Arnold waited patiently for my answer and what did I do? Give him the typical Helga G. Pataki response.

"No." I said and promptly shut the door in his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Thank you so much for the reviews. They're what make me want to keep writing. Sorry for any grammar problems.**

Phoebe stared at me with wide eyes. "You did what?"

"You heard me Pheebs, I said no and shut the door in his face!" I groaned and flopped back on the bed. "Goodbye cool adult Helga and hello childish immature Helga."

I stared up at living room ceiling, my lips curled in a perpetual scowl. The movie played on the tv, pretty much forgotten as I told Phoebe about that day's earlier events. I had half hoped and half expected Arnold to attempt reaching out to me, try to convince me to hang out with him. But after a moment or two of silence, I had gathered enough courage to glance out the window only to see him walking down the street. I was such an idiot. I couldn't act normal around Arnold if my life depended on it.

Phoebe's sympathetic face appeared in my view. "At least, you didn't insult him this time. That shows progress."

I gave an unwilling smile at that. "Thanks for always looking on the bright side Pheebs."

"And who says you have to always be available when he asks you to be?" She continued with a slight flush on her face. "Just because Arnold suddenly walks back into your life, who says you have to take notice? You have your own life to live whether or not he's in the picture!"

It was now my turn to stare at her with wide eyes. Phoebe's normally relaxed, pale face was flushed pink and her mouth twitched with emotion.

"Whoa Phoebe, take a chill pill." I quickly sat up. "What's with you all of a sudden?"

Phoebe blinked until her face become a more normal color and when she spoke her voice became meek with a touch of sadness.

"Sorry Helga, but I just can't stand the thought of Arnold undoing all the hard work you put into being a more mature person."

"It isn't _all_ his fault," I muttered unwillingly.

I hated when I defended him, but the words escaped me before I could stop them. Yes part of me blamed that adoring, kind football head for all the trouble in my life and wanted to beat the crap out of him. But my traitorous, conflicting heart didn't want me to speak ill of the boy I worshiped as a child.

There was a moment of silence as the two of us watched the movie I put in. It was a pretty average 90s action movie with the typical gruff, muscular ex-mercenary attempting to stop some evil foreign billionaire from causing world war III. The living room was dark except for the TV so we could get the full impact of the explosions. The sound had to be kept low though or else Olga would come downstairs and nag us to death until we turned it down.

I glanced over at Phoebe to see if she was still irritated. Her eyes were still on the TV but it didn't look like she was paying much attention to it either.

"So how'd number crunching go with Mr. Smooth?" I asked, trying to get us back to a more comfortable topic.

Immediately Phoebe's eyes lit up again. "Excellent actually. It turns out that one of the colleges I had my eye on has not only a chemistry and political science major and a basketball team and communications major. Also, with my combined offered scholarship and the potential basketball grant, it looks like Gerald and I can attend the same college after all!"

"That's great Pheebs!" I clapped her on the shoulder and smirked. "Maybe you two can see about co-ed rooming."

Phoebe blushed like I knew she would and looked away. "H-helga!"

"Aw, what's wrong? Afraid he'll distract you from studying?" I snickered. "Afraid you'll miss a few morning classes?"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening." Phoebe stubbornly put her hands over her ears like a child.

No matter how old Phoebe got she was still modest about her relationship with Gerald. My constant source of amusement was watching them both blush like preteens whenever I even mentioned anything sexual. This was a complete three-sixty from back when I was dating Arnold. Back then, the constant fighting and disappointment made it hard for me to be around anyone and more than once I had avoided Phoebe.

But thankfully all of that was in the past now. I grabbed a pillow from the couch and hit her with it to get her attention.

"Seriously Pheebs," I lowered my voice. "Have you two done _anything_ yet?"

"Helga, that's highly inappropriate conversation!" Phoebe adjusted her glasses and answered anyway. "If you must know… n-nothing more than kisses a-and embraces. But that's just fine with me." She added quickly.

I chuckled at looked her over. Phoebe had grown curvier in the past few years and more mature from age, but she was still my cute petite Asian sidekick. I was just about to ask her if she wanted to change the movie when my cell phone rang. I picked it up and looked at the caller ID in confusion. It wasn't a number I recognized and it was too late to be a telemarketer so who in the world could it be?

"Talk to me," I answered abruptly.

"Um, hey Helga. It's Arnold. Again."

The phone jumped out of my hand and I stared at it like it had grown legs and a tail. Phoebe stared at me and confusion and asked what was wrong but I could barely hear her over my thudding heart. I didn't even question how he got my number. All I could do was curse fate for bringing Arnold back into my life, them continually shoving him in my face over and over again.

"Helga? Helga?" Arnold's tiny voice sighed over the phone. "Helga come on, please don't hang up on me."

Phoebe looked at me expectantly, and I quickly scrambled to grab it.

"S-sorry, I had to take a crap!" I blurted out.

There was a moment of silence on the other end and I saw Phoebe facepalm. I groaned inwardly. Great. Awkward Helga 2, Mature Helga 0. But then miracles of miracles, Arnold started laughing.

"Same old Helga." He chuckled. "I guess I caught you off guard again huh?"

"Y-yeah, learn to text someone before you call!" I snapped.

"Whatever you say, Helga," He said with familiar obedience. "So anyway, I wanted to apologize for just dropping in on you yesterday. My grandparents kicked me out and Gerald was busy doing college stuff with Phoebe so I just figured..."

Oh. He just wanted to hang out with me because he had nothing better to do. Way to go making a big deal out of nothing _again._

"Yeah, I was busy," I mumbled. "Is that all you called about because I'm sorta busy now."

"Um no, that wasn't the only reason I called." For a moment, I could have sworn I heard a bit of irritation in Arnold's voice, but then he cleared his throat and resumed in a normal tone again. "So yeah, I was calling to see if you wanted to hang out tomorrow after you get off of work? So we can catch up some more?"

"Uhh..." I glanced over at Phoebe and quickly put the phone on mute. "It's Arnold and he wants to know if I want to hang out with him tomorrow! What do I do?"

"Whatever you want to Helga," Phoebe whispered. "But remember, you don't owe him anything and nothing has to happen between you two."

"Right." I nodded and unmuted the phone. "Arnold... I would absolutely love to hang out with you tomorrow!"

"Really?" Arnold sounded surprised. "G-great! Text me what time you get off and I can pick you up. Sound good?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow Arnoldo." I hung up the phone and found myself smiling.

"I guess you do want to hang out with Arnold after all." Phoebe pointed out with a small smile.

"Well like you said, nothing has to happen between us."

I turned back to watch the last few minutes of the movie, but I chewed my lower lip in thought. Phoebe was right, I didn't owe Arnold a damn thing! If anything he owed me getting my hopes up, breaking my heart, and then moving away before I could properly kick his ass.

But still, the thought of Arnold, my golden-haired adonis, wanting to spend the day with me tomorrow still had the power to send my heart skyrocketing. A loving sigh escaped my lips before I could stop it. Phoebe gave me a weird look so I disguised it as a yawn.

"Man, I'm beat." I yawned, stretching my arms above my head. "I think I should probably hit the hay."

"So you can dream about him?" Phoebe had a small teasing smile but her eyes looked wary. "Would you still like me to spend the night?"

"Well doi!" I threw my arms around her shoulders and hugged her close to me. "But seriously Pheebs, promise me you'll never leave my side. My life would suck without you."

Phoebe smiled. "Noted."


	4. Chapter 4

My one day off was followed by an eight am to four forty-five pm morning shift. Unfortunately, the manager was out and the assistant manager had it out for me which is why I got stuck with such a crummy shift. Hill-o-Beans was located right near the business and shopping district so there was plenty of foot traffic. Dozens of young interns, college students, business men and woman filled the shop on an hourly basis keeping me plenty busy.

"Well, you know what big Bob says," I muttered to myself, tying back my hair, "You can't earn decent money without doing some decent hard work."

I grabbed my green apron and house keys and headed down the stairs. Passing Olga's room I could hear her practicing her vocals for play rehearsals later in the day. I went down the stairs as quietly as possible so she wouldn't offer me a ride to work. I loved Olga and everything, but not so much in the mornings.

Outside the air was still warm with early summer making the walk almost enjoyable. The assistant manager was the one who had to open so I didn't have to be there at seven like he did. But that still meant I would have to deal with the morning already-late-for-work rushers who expect me to snap my fingers and make coffee magically appear with no wait.

I was right down the street from work when I already saw customers rushing in and out. The only other person inside was the assistant manager Carlos, a high-strung twenty-something-year-old. He noticed me coming over and impatiently waved me inside.

"Okay morning shift, morning shift." I cracked my neck back and forth to work out any kinks. "Here we go."

"Pataki!" Carlos yelled as soon as I walked in, "I need you to put more chocolate scones and raisin cinnamon scones in the oven. And then I need you on the coffee makers. I still got morning reports to do."

"Well, maybe you should have put more people on schedule this morning." I shot back, but I obediently went to the back, washed my hands, and put a new tray of scones in the oven.

After I clocked in I went to the coffee machines to start filling in the orders Carlos yelled back to me. The first day I worked here I could barely tell a mocha chino from a cappuccino, but in a short year, I was the best brewer in the store. Not that Carlos would ever admit it.

"Hurry up with those seven cappas Pataki!" Carlos demanded.

"It was five cappas and two macchiatos." I corrected him before the impatient customer had a chance to.

I quickly put the drinks into two carry trays and Carols quickly passed it off to the customer before turning to the next one. The timer on the oven went off just then so I had to jet it back there and take them out before they burned.

"Pataki!"

"Hold your horses!" I yelled, nearing the edge of my already thin patience. "You want this to burn or you want to sell them?"

I was in such a hurry that putting on oven gloves slipped my mind entirely and I grabbed the tray bare handed. I yelped and barely managed to stop myself from cursing. I took a precious moment to examine my hands. Thankfully, there were only red welts across my fingers.

"Pataki!"

 _One of these days, I swear one of these days._ A brief fantasy of beating Carlos across the head with one of these baking trays played in my mind as I took the tray out with a pair of heavy duty oven mitts and set them on a cooling rack before rushing back out front. Carlos gave me a dirty look but I ignored him and went back to making the orders.

As soon as there was a lull in customers I grabbed a dish bucket and a damp rag so I could wipe down the tables. Carlos immediately frowned

"I don't remember relieving you from the coffee makers, Pataki," He said.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Well if I waited for you to, you'd just nag that I'm not being productive."

"Watch it, Pataki. Or do you want to get written up? _Again._ "

I bit back my more than insubordinate reply and kept working. That stupid jerk wasn't bluffing, he had written up more than once for mouthing off to him. Fortunately, my manager Jeffrey knew Carlos was a joke and secretly threw away Carlos's write ups.

After another two hours, a few more baristas came in along with about fifty customers. We were immediately swamped but at least, it kept my mind from… other things. My co-workers for the day included Nadine and Jessica, the latter being a Hot Topic reject who just turned sweet sixteen and was a pain in my backside. While Nadine worked the register and Jessica manned the coffee makers, I took a quick break in the back to get off my feet. Against my better judgment I took out my phone and re-read the text messages, we exchanged last night before I went to bed.

 **Me: I got the morning shift so I'm working from 8 am to 4:45 pm**

 **Arnold: lol. That sucks. I'll pick you up around 4:50ish and we can get some ice cream. Sound good?**

 **Me: Ice cream? What are we kids?**

 **Arnold: Haha, well excuse me miss mature adult Helga. Does Gelato sound better?**

 **Me: Hey, as long as you're paying I'm eating.**

 **Arnold: Whatever you say Helga : )**

A soft smile spread across my lips, however, unwilling. Such a simple and meaningless conversation and yet so meaningful to my hardened hopelessly romantic heart.

"It's just a conversation you idiot," I mumbled to myself. "Oh, but what a sweet and innocent conversation it was."

"Um Helga," Jessica poked her head around the back. "We're out of mint whipped cream out here."

I barely glanced up from my phone. "Well then get more from the fridge, doi."

"I looked, I didn't find any."

"Well then ask Carlos if he ordered any. Why the hell are you asking me for anyway?"

Jessica pouted like she was five instead of sixteen. "I did ask him, but he said to ask you. Could you just come out here, please? There's like twenty people and Steve doesn't get in for another hour and-"

"Alright! Alright! I'm coming, criminy!" I snapped.

Great. My break cut short because this broad didn't know how to spot a bright green can. I stopped by the fridge to pull out a can of mint whip (right in plain sight of course) and followed Jessica out front. Nadine shot me apologetic look and a shrug.

"Sorry Helga, I would have looked myself but Carlos doesn't like it when I leave the register," She said.

"Well, where the heck is he?" I growled. "He's been MIA for over an hour."

Nadine rolled her eyes. "Still doing paperwork."

I sighed in annoyance, but I don't immediately go find him and hit him upside the head just yet. We honestly aren't that busy at the moment so I guess I'll let him live to screw us over another day. Since I already ended my break I decide that I might as well get back to work and started to refill the giant coffee makers. The front door dings announcing a new customer, but I don't pay any attention to it until I hear Nadine squeal.

"Arnold!? When did you get back to Hillwood!?"

My entire body tensed at the sound of his name. The last time I glanced at my watch it was only four so why was he here already?

"Hey Nadine, hey Helga."

His soft chuckle shot straight through my heart. I glanced over my shoulder at him and gave him a half nod in response.

"So what can get for you, Arnold?" Nadine asked.

"Um, just a large coffee, please. Black. For here."

 _He even likes his coffee the same way I do!_ The stupid thought makes me happy for some stupid reason I refuse to acknowledge.

"Did you get that Helga?" Nadine asked, completing the transaction.

"Yeah, yeah, it's only the world's most boring order." I scoffed. "Maybe give me a challenge next time, Football Head?"

I turned around to hand him his coffee and found him smiling at me.

"Or maybe I'll be the one making you coffee next time, Helga." He chuckled.

Nadine had to quickly grab the mug out of my hand before I dropped it and quickly handed off to Arnold. He gave me another one of those cheesy, heart-stopping smiles then moved to an empty table with his coffee.

"Helga! Helga!" Nadine waved her hand in front of my face and I was suddenly aware of the fact that there were ten more people waiting in line.

Nadine spouted off several orders and quickly went to work making them. I had to stop thinking about that stupid football head and that stupid smile. Losing focus for even a second could mean me burning my fingers even more than they had been already or getting Carlos back out here to yell at me.

But unfortunately after only about fifteen minutes the customers died down again and I found my eye wandering to Arnold. Nadine went to take her break leaving me at the registers and coffee makers and Jessica to buss tables. Every now and then his eyes would lift from the book he was reading and meet mine, making my heart leap to my throat and I quickly looked away.

"Ooh, he's cute." Jessica purred next to me. "I think I'll give him a free refill."

I rolled my eyes. "He's too old for you. Even with your six pounds of make-up on and laciest A-cup on."

"We'll see."

Jessica sashayed her way over to Arnold and nearly broke her back leaning over to give him a good view down her top while she refilled his cup. She chatted to him with that bright pink, glittery lip gloss of hers and he smiled and said something in response. I felt the old familiar pang of white hot jealousy shoot through me. Common sense told me that she was way too young and ditzy for even his taste, but the angry Helga reminded me that Jessica was a smiling brunette which was exactly Arnold's taste. But then while Jessica was distracted, Arnold's eyes lifted to meet mine and he rolled his eyes in weary exasperation.

I chuckled and decided to help the poor guy out. "Jessica, come refill the chocolate syrup!"

"Ugh, fine!" Jessica pouted and finally moved away from Arnold.

He shot me a grateful smile and waved me over just as Nadine came back from break.

"Cover the register for me?" I asked grabbing a bin and dish rag.

Instead of going straight to him though (what am I his dog?) I took my time going to all the other tables first and seeing if the other customers needed refills. Still, maybe it was my imagination, but I could have sworn I felt his eyes on me. After I hit every table I finally made my way to his table.

"I came too early didn't I?" Arnold spoke first with an apologetic chuckle.

I rolled my eyes. "Well doi, what gave you the first clue? The green apron or the name tag?"

"I had some errands to run so I decided to come over." Arnold shrugged, his smile clearly showing that he wasn't in the least bit sorry. And truth be told, I wasn't really that sorry either.

I glanced at my watch. "Technically I don't get off for another five minutes, but if you want I could probably sneak off now."

"Sure you won't get in trouble?" He asked carefully.

I refused to even look at the office door where Carlos was pretending to do accounts while no doubt surfing the internet. "No promises."

"Cool." Arnold nodded. "I'm ready whenever you are."

I told him that I would be right back and went to the back to grab my keys and clock out, fudging the form a little. I made a quick pit stop to the washroom to use the can and when I was washing my hands I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyes fell to my lips, only a little colored with the lip gloss I had been wearing.

"Hmm, maybe I could borrow some of Jessica's lip gloss." I mused out loud.

I froze as soon as the words left my mouth. Did I seriously just consider borrowing phony, bright pink, cheap lip gloss from a high schooler? What was wrong with me!? But I already knew the answer. My thudding heart and the flush on my face said it all. I might be falling for Arnold all over again. I had gotten over him, but then all the mook had to do was smile at me and my heart went wild.

"No, not again," I whispered, wiping the smile off my face. "Just remember what Phoebe said. Just because we're civil don't mean I gotta fall all over him again. Just play it cool and don't say anything you might regret."

I took a couple of breaths to force my heartbeat to return to normal and splashed some water on my face to cool it down. Only when I didn't look so much like a lovesick moron did I leave the bathroom, ready to make this "not a date". But by the time I came back out front, there was an all too familiar red-head sitting across from him. I felt my nails dig into my palm at the sight of Arnold and Lila together, an old familiar jealous habit, but nothing more than that.

Lila saw me first and her eyes brightened. "Helga! Look who's here!"

"She always knows Lila." Arnold smiled when he saw me and stood up. "We made plans to get some ice cream so we could catch up. Ready Helga?"

Before I could answer, Lila spoke up first. "Oh! Well, I ever so didn't mean to keep you, Arnold. But if you have some free time another day, I would ever so much like to hear about some of your adventures too."

She started to leave but I snatched up the opportunity not to be alone with Arnold. If I had another person with me, I had a lesser chance of messing things up.

"Hey, why not just tag along with us?" I said trying to sound as casual as possible.

"Well," Lila glanced at Arnold. "As long as Arnold doesn't mind. I would hate to interrupt a date…"

She trailed off, leaving the unasked question hanging in the air. Arnold and I glanced at each other, probably asking the same thing. Even though I was the one who brought it up, somewhere deep down (deep, deep down) I was hoping that he would tell Lila no and that we were about to go out on a date. But he was waiting for me to say something, and I refused to give anything away before I knew for sure. So I shrugged and he turned back to Lila with one of those charming smiles.

"Sure. Sounds great Lila." He said.

Lila nodded but kept her eyes on me. I kept an easy, nonchalant smile on my face, but at the same time, I swallowed what I refused to call regret.

 **A/N- Thank you so much everyone for all of the amazing reviews**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Thank you, everyone, for all the reviews, favs, and follows. This is my first Hey Arnold fanfiction and I'm very glad you guys like it so far.**

It took every ounce of my self-control to not outright scowl at Lila as she droned on and on in that "oh so sweet" voice of hers. The three of us sat at an outside table at one of those mainstream gelato places. I picked over my raspberry gelato. At least with Lila babbling and taking up the attention I didn't have to worry about making a fool out of myself in front of Arnold. But… was it just my imagination or was he sitting closer to me than he was to her? Every time the breeze blew I swear I could smell the sweet intoxicating scent of his coconut shampoo. It was heartier now and still had the power to make me swoon. I could have also sworn that I could feel the heat radiating off of his lean, toned muscles. He was facing Lila so I could enjoy the profile of his head and his adorable round nose.

Suddenly, without moving his head, Arnold's beautiful green flickered towards me. I jolted. Had I been staring at him this entire time!? His lips curled into a small smile before he turned his attention back to Lila again. I turned back around too. Lila was still going on and on, talking about something she was planning to do this summer. What was I going to do this summer? College applications maybe? Volunteer some time coaching little league?

A feather light touch on my knee broke me out of my thoughts. I glanced down and couldn't believe what I saw. Arnold's hand was gently caressing my knee, moving his fingers in slow, easy circles. My eyes traveled up his muscular arm to find those magnificent green eyes watching me again. Lila's droning voice faded into the background and my breath caught in my throat. Arnold's fingers slowly made their way up my thigh sending warm shivers through my entire body.

 _What is he doing!?_ I shrieked in my head. _Is this actually happening!?_

But the pressure and the warmth of his hand felt better than real and his eyes burned with mischief and desire. He leaned closer to me and whispered so only I could hear,

" _Let's get out of here so we can be alone."_

 _I smiled and felt my heart melt, giving in completely to him. "Oh, Arnold."_

"Yes?"

I blinked. Arnold and Lila were both staring at me in confusion. The warmth and touch of Arnold's hand were gone. Because it was never there in the first place.

"Is something wrong Helga?" Arnold looked at me with concern. "You called my name. Did you need something?"

I felt the color completely drain from my face and I quickly looked away. "N-no. Forget it Arnoldo."

"Are you sure you're alright, Helga?" Lila asked, gently touching my arm. "Your face is turning an ever so unusual color."

"I said I'm alright so drop it will ya!?" I snapped.

Everybody within a five-mile radius flinched at my outburst. Arnold sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Great. Snapping at perfect Lila was still definitely a turn off for him. I glowered down at my gelato. Just as Lila started talking again, Arnold cleared his throat and took out his wallet.

"Sorry to interrupt Lila, but I need to get going," He said, placing some money on the table. "It was really great seeing you, though. We should do this again soon, though."

"I agree. I ever so much enjoyed doing this."

She and Arnold both stood up and hugged each other tightly. I tried not to gag or flip the table over. Instead, I looked over at the other side of the street, purposely keeping a bored expression on my face. Why shouldn't I be bored? It wasn't like this was anything new for me anyway. Thanks to Phoebe and Gerald I was used to people being all coupley around me. It didn't bother me at all. Not. At. All.

"Are you ready to go?"

I looked up and around in surprise. Arnold was smiling down at me like he was actually talking to me. And when I noticed that Lila was walking down the street, I realized that he was really was talking to me. Arnold continued to smile at me and I forced myself to play with my half eaten gelato.

"I thought you there was somewhere you needed to be," I grumbled.

"Um," Arnold lowered his voice and gave me a roguish grin. "I may have said that to get rid of her."

"Oh?" My heart lightened and a smile tugged at my lips. "What's the matter? Tired of hearing about her oh-so-darling cows and chickens she plans on visiting this summer?"

"Guilty." He chuckled. "Come on, it's still pretty early. Wanna go for a walk?"

I resisted the urge to jump into my old love's arms and forced myself to shrug like it didn't matter. "Whatever floats your boat, bucko."

It wasn't very late, five-thirty at most, but part of the sky was already turning dark orange. We walked down the sidewalk side by side together, close enough that our elbows kept brushing against each other. I kept my hands in my jean pockets so I wouldn't grab his arm and cling to him for the rest of my life. The weather was warm with a gentle summer breeze. Oh man, I could still smell that shampoo.

"So Gerald said he and Phoebe are going to the same college," Arnold said casually. "They didn't mention you, though."

"That's because I haven't decided yet." I shrugged. "School's expensive and I'm not a brain like Pheebs."

"But you're a really good writer." He pointed out encouragingly. "You could major in English and make a career out of it."

"Or I can just keep working at the coffee shop and write at home."

Arnold gave me a disbelieving look. "You mean you'd rather spend the rest of your life at home with your sister?"

"And what are my other options? Living at home with my parents? No. Random roommate at college? Ha! Anyone request a transfer within a week."

I was mostly joking but Arnold gave me a sympathetic look.

"Helga," He gently touched my arm. "Are things still… difficult with your parents?"

 _Oh Arnold, so sweet and concerned for my wellbeing._ I thought privately but I scoffed out loud. "Relax, things are actually a lot better with my folks. But I wanted to feel like an adult so I moved out with Olga."

"Then why not feel like more of an adult and go to college?" Arnold insisted. "What's more adult than leaving home completely and going to college?"

I stopped walking and looked at him curiously. "Why are you so interested?"

Arnold glanced at me over his shoulder and kept walking. "Curious."

I pursed my lips in annoyance. The stupid bleeding heart was just checking up on me after all. He glanced back at me again so I hurried up to catch up with him. I noticed that we were heading towards the pier.

"What about you?" I asked. "How long is it going to take for you to make your rounds in Hillwood before you head back out?"

Arnold kept his eyes straight ahead and didn't answer for a moment. "It depends."

 _On what? Gerald? Your parents? A…girlfriend!?_

"On what?" I asked, keeping my voice even.

Arnold didn't answer. We reached the pier and sat down at the end of the dock, dangling our feet over the edge. I caught my breath at the sight in front of me. The sun was setting over the water, making it glitter a dark gold. It was as if the stars themselves fell from heaven, but before they hit the water, they were dipped in the sun. It was almost too bright to behold, but too beautiful not to.

"That was beautiful Helga," Arnold said suddenly. "Did you just make that up?"

My cheeks heated up and I turned to see him smiling at me. Crap, did I just poet out loud again? I really need to control that.

"So are you planning on going to college?" I asked just to change the subject. "Or do you still need to finish jungle high?"

"I got my G.E.D last month and… I'm not sure if I'm going to college." He looked out over the water. "Being in San Lorenzo really opened my eyes, Helga. There are just so many options in life that it's really hard to choose."

I shrugged. "Big Bob says that you can't get anywhere in this world these days without a college degree. I don't know how much I believe him but he seems pretty convinced."

"But I thought you said you're not sure if you want to go to college." Arnold pointed out. "You don't think you're going to take your dad's advice?"

I scowled. "He only thinks I could stick it in community college before going to work for him. If I go to college it definitely won't be a community college."

Arnold nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, you're a lot better than that. As a matter of fact, I think you could make it into any college or career you want."

A sarcastic remark immediately came to mind, but instead I smiled. "Thanks, Arnold."

Arnold's smile grew and I could have sworn there was a soft expression in his eyes. He held me that expression and I couldn't turn away from him even if I wanted to. And right now, I definitely didn't want to. Arnold kept staring at me and I would have given anything to know what he was thinking.

"You know something, Helga?" He asked quietly.

"What?" I whispered.

Arnold lifted a hand and touched a few strands of my hair that had fallen out of my ponytail. The breath left my lungs in what could only be described as a loving sigh. He smiled at the sound and started to lean closer.

"Your hair got longer," He whispered, his nose almost touching mine.

 _Oh, my love. My beloved football head love._ I closed my eyes and waited for his lips to touch mine. The lightest puff of air brushed against my ready, waiting lips that I knew to be my beloved's breath-

" _Can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face!-"_

 _"So wait for me, I swear I'll find you, climbing every wall that hides you-"_

Both our phones went off at the same time, breaking any sort of mood that had been going on. My eyes shot open to find Arnold digging through his pocket for his phone. I sighed and pulled mine out too. Ugh, Olga.

I pressed the answer button and held the phone to my ear. "Yes, Olga?"

"Baby sister where are you?" Olga half whined and half shrieked in my ear. "You should have been home three hours ago!"

I glanced at my phone screen, it wasn't even seven thirty yet. Miss drama queen, head actress everybody.

"Olga, calm down. I was just hanging with Arnold and Lila." I sighed.

"You couldn't have told me first?" She continued wailing loudly. "Here I was worried half to death after I looked at your schedule and saw that you weren't closing. And I wondered 'where could my baby sister be?' 'Why isn't she home yet when she got off hours ago?' 'Why didn't she leave a note?'"

"Criminy, I'm not a baby!" I snapped. "Stop being so dramatic and get off my case alright? If I wanted to I could walk around the city naked all night if I wanted to!"

There was a tiny suppressed chuckle and I glanced over to see Arnold flash me a small amused smile before resuming his own phone conversation. On my end, there was a scandalized gasp from Olga.

"Helga Geraldine Pataki don't talk like that!" She chastised me. "I'm only trying to look out for you like mommy and daddy never did."

I grunted in response but relented. Only a little, though. "Listen, Olga, I'm an adult okay? I pay half the rent just like you and I work just like you. If I wanna go somewhere after work without stopping home I will. But I'll level with you. Next time I decide to go AWOL I'll leave a note. That good enough for you?"

Olga sniffled dramatically. "Yes, I suppose that will help abate my worries in the future. Thank you, baby sister."

"Yeah, yeah whatever." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be home in a minute."

"See you for dinner Hel-"

I hung up on her and turned to Arnold who had already finished his own phone conversation. He gave me a sheepish smile.

"Sorry Helga," He chuckled, "I hope I didn't get you into too much trouble."

I scoffed. "No. Olga just likes to smother me like I'm her problem child. I should get going though before her perfect blond hair turns a perfect shade of white."

"You know, she might be just trying to make up for… you know…" He stood up and offered a hand to let me up. "You want me to walk you home?"

I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. "Walk me home yes, psychoanalyze me no. I know what Olga's doing, but that doesn't make it any less annoying."

Arnold chuckled. "Whatever you say, Helga."

We started heading back in the direction of my place. Every fiber of my being was hyper aware that Arnold was still holding my hand. But I was just as aware that he didn't try to kiss me again. If he even was ever going to kiss me in the first place.

"So that was Rhonda on the phone," Arnold said. "She was absolutely outraged that I came back to town without telling her." He rolled his eyes with a small laugh. "So now she wants to throw a welcome back party for me."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Ooh, an exclusive party hosted Rhonda Wellington Lloyd herself. Aren't you the lucky one?"

"Yeah I guess." Arnold scratched the back of his head. "So what do you think? Do you want to go?"

I stopped walking. The question completely caught me off guard. Sure Arnold and I had gone to a few parties together when we were dating, but now? Were we going together as friends or… something else? Arnold sighed at my hesitation and let go of my hand.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable-"

"Rhonda and I aren't the best of friends right now," I said quickly. "It… might be uncomfortable if I just showed up at her party uninvited."

"I'm inviting you." Arnold gave me a hopeful smile. He stepped closer to me but didn't take my hand again. "Besides, since when do you care about making Rhonda uncomfortable?"

I smirked. "She's going to be just as mad at you for inviting me."

"I think I can live with that," Arnold said carelessly. "So what do you say, do you want to go to Rhonda's party with me?"

I still couldn't tell whether he was asking as an ex or a friend, but honestly, when he smiled at me like that, I had no choice.

"Eh, why not?" I shrugged. "When and where?"

"Next Friday at eight. Think you can get off work?"

"I'll have to work my charm on the manager, but I think I can wing it."

If I couldn't, I'd just have to show up fashionably late. Thank my lucky stars that the shop closed at eight-thirty at the latest. And was it my imagination or did Arnold look relieved that I had said yes?

"So if you're don't go to college, what are you going to do?" Arnold asked as we started walking again. I couldn't help but notice that he didn't reach for my hand again.

"I dunno," I sighed. "As much as working at Hill-O-Beans annoys the crap out of me, I'm pretty good at it and I get paid pretty good money for it."

"Are you making enough to move out on your own?" Arnold asked curiously.

"Not even close. It's just enough to pay half the rent and give me some extra money. If I ever make manager or supervisor, though… maybe."

We reached my place and through the window I could see the lights on which meant Olga was home. Hopefully not getting dinner wet with her dramatic tears of worry and angst at my absence.

"So…" Arnold said slowly as I fished for my keys. "I'm not really busy tomorrow. Think we can hang out again?"

My heart nearly stopped beating but I forced myself to remain calm. "Eh… I'm working again. Mid-shift."

"Oh." Arnold's smile fell and my heart broke. "Well…"

 _Please offer to stop by. Please offer to stop by. Please offer to stop by._

"Maybe, I can text you then?" Arnold shrugged. "I can't say that I have any real plans, but I was planning on doing a few things tomorrow."

My disappointment turned against me and turned into anger. "Then why the heck did invite me to hang out then if you already had plans football head!?"

"Can't I just like having your company?" Arnold snapped back. "Geez, why do you always have to make everything a fight?"

I could feel my stomach twisting and bit back any angry reply. I couldn't count how many times I had heard that over the course of our old relationship he had said those very words to me. And it had always led to an even bigger fight until neither of use spoke to each other for days.

The thought made me sigh. I guess it was back to that again. Arnold sighed too.

"Sorry," He muttered. "I guess I'm just disappointed that I can't spend more time with you."

My head came up at that. Was he disappointed? I was the one still half in love with him and yet couldn't spend time with him because of my stupid job.

"We have more than the coffee you know," I said without thinking. "We have sandwiches, tea, scones… a whole menu full of crap."

A small smile tugged at Arnold's lips. "Are you asking me to stop by Helga?"

"Pfft, yeah right," I looked away, feeling a blush work up my neck. "You'd just distract me."

"Are you saying I'm distracting?" He said in a low teasing voice. "Do I distract you, Helga?"

 _Only my every waking thoughts and dreams since you waltz back into my life._ "Again, yeah right."

But Arnold smiled like he didn't believe me. "Whatever you say, Helga."

I figured now would be the perfect time to go inside before I babbled something more embarrassing.

"Look I should probably get inside before Olga starts looking for me again," I said.

"I won't keep you then." Arnold took a step back and gave me a warm and caring smile. "Good night Helga."

I opened my front door and stepped inside. "Night football head."

Once I was safely inside with the door firmly shut, I slid down to the floor, a loving sigh escaping my lips.

"Good night Arnold, my love."

* * *

 _Geez, why do you have to turn everything into a fight, Helga!?"_

" _You're the one turning it into a fight Arnoldo!"_

 _People parted quickly as they walked briskly down the sidewalk, throwing glances over their shoulders at them. Helga stormed down the sidewalk with Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald trailing in her angry wake. Arnold was scowling just as deeply as she was, though, and Phoebe and Gerald were the ones following in awkward silence._

 _Arnold sighed and tried to reason with her, like always. "Look, Helga, it's not that I don't mind paying every now and then, but you can't expect me to do it every single time."_

" _I don't do cheap dates, football head." Helga spat over her shoulder._

 _She didn't tell him that her father refused to give her money without her saying what it was for. And there was no way she was going to tell him it was for a double date. He didn't even know that she had a boyfriend._

" _I'm not being cheap!" Arnold said angrily. "I just can't afford to pay for you all the time!"_

" _Well then get a job!"_

" _Why don't you!?"_

" _Uh, so what did you guys think about that movie?" Gerald broke in, but neither of them heard him._

" _How about we just don't go out on any more dates at all!?" Helga yelled, whirling on her heel to face him._

" _That sounds fine with me!" Arnold shouted back._

" _Fine!"_

" _Fine!"_

 _They stormed off in opposite directions, completely forgetting about their two best friends. As soon as Helga was far enough away she ducked into an alley and hid behind a dumpster. Her anger drained out of her and her knees buckled until she was sitting on the dirty, filthy sidewalk. Hot tears flooded her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Why didn't she just tell him that she was broke? Why couldn't she just confide in him that she was afraid of her dad finding out about her relationship?_

" _Yeah right," Helga impatiently wiped her face. "He'd just think that everything can be solved by just talking things out. He'd never understand."_

 _Her phone buzzed and she quickly opened it, hoping it was Phoebe looking to comfort her or Arnold apologizing. Her heart fell when she read the screen. It was Arnold, but he didn't text her an apology._

 _ **We need to talk.**_

* * *

I woke up with a start. The room was still dark and my alarm clock read 2:33 a.m. I fell back against my pillow, but I couldn't close my eyes. That dream/memory was too fresh for me to relax and just fall back asleep again. My eyes were dry but they ached like I had been crying in my sleep. That had been our second of many fake break-ups that we had back when I and Arnold were together. He had dumped me and then came crawling back a week later. Still, the memory almost made me want to cry all over again. I almost regretted befriended Arnold again.

"Ugh, don't be such a baby," I grumbled. "Things are different now. _I'm_ different now. _He's_ different now. Besides, we aren't even a couple anymore. What is there to fight about?"

 _"Geez, why do you turn everything into a fight, Helga?"_

Arnold didn't say that a few years ago, he said that a few hours ago. Just like old times.

I could only groan and pull the pillow over my face. "Things are different now."

Unless of course… things weren't different at all. I was just falling into the same trap all over again and I couldn't do anything to stop it because I was still hopelessly in love with that stupid football head.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time I got to Hill-O-Beans, it was already bustling with the lunchtime rush. As usual, Carlos scowled at me as soon as I walked in but another face caught my attention and made me grin. Behind the register, Jacob flashed me a quick smile before turning his attention back to the line of customers in front of him. Jacob was one of the other people who worked here that I considered a friend (the other being Nadine). He was nearly six feet, muscular, with black messy hair and heavily tattooed arms. But the part I liked about him the most was his laid back, give no craps attitude and his sense of humor. Working with him was going to make this shift a breeze.

After I clocked in and put my stuff away, I quickly ran over to replace Carlos at the coffee machines.

"It's about time Pataki," Carlos scoffed, "And by the way, you're three minutes late. Try that again and I'll put you on morning shift for a month."

I rolled my eyes and bit back my response, choosing instead to focus on the orders being made. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Jacob's shoulders twitch with a silent chuckle. Carlos must have taken my silence for acquiescence because he nodded smugly and left for the back despite us being slammed with customers. But to be honest, I would rather he stay out of my face today.

As soon as Carlos was out of earshot, Jacob shot me a look over his shoulder.

"Any day now." He chuckled.

"Shut up." I retorted instantly.

"He liiikes you." Jacob sang under his breath. "He waaants you."

"Shut up!" I hissed more forcefully.

Next to me, Nadine chuckled under her breath as we got to work trying to fill these orders. Jacob had a crazy running bet that the reason Carlos was such a dickbag to me was because he secretly had a thing for me. In Jacob's twisted mind that completely made sense. Even though he was only twenty-something there were times he acted twelve and times he acted thirty. This was one of those times when he acted like a twelve-year-old.

"Carlos likes Helga, Carlos likes Helga." He continued to sing under his breath.

I placed three completed orders into a drink carrier and as I handed it the customer, I purposely stomped on Jacob's foot. He repressed a grunt of pain behind a smile for the benefit of the customer, but the grunt satisfied my vindictive nature.

I turned back to the coffee makers so the flood of customers wouldn't completely overwhelm us. The only ones on staff right now were me, Nadine, Jacob, and two other baristas. As usual, Carlos ducked in and out of his office only to refill his personal cup of coffee and to boss us around.

"Geez, what does Carlos do back there all day?" Nadine complained.

"I'm sure we can guess." Jacob chuckled.

I rolled my eyes. Quite frankly, I was just waiting for Carlos to get canned by the manager. Jacob and I were the most senior baristas there so if the manager were to fill the position internally, it would probably go to one of us.

"So how was your British va-ca, Jacob?" I asked with a small smirk. He hated it whenever I brought up his British background.

"First of all, it's _Jake,_ not Jacob." He said. "Second of all, boring. Skiing sucks. Anything interesting happen when I was gone?"

Nadine smirked and looked at me. "Helga's old ex-boyfriend came back to town. Came straight back to her and everything."

"Oh?" Jacob raised an eyebrow and glanced at me. "The infamous forever single Helga has an ex-boyfriend?"

"Yep. A jungle exploring, adventurous, _cute_ ex-boyfriend." Nadine continued to smirk at me. "Isn't that right Helga?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, trying my best to ignore the heat rising to my face. "It's no big deal, Nadine. Arnold came back to see everyone, not just me."

"Sure about that?" Jacob snickered. "You're turning pretty red."

"Oh, shove it, _Dolton._ " I sneered, stressing his last name which of course he hated.

Jacob narrowed his eyes and the corner of his mouth went up in a smirk, but before he could say anything Carlos came out front, ending any more conversation. Going to the back like it was his own kitchen, Carlos fixed himself lunch and sat a table near the front to eat. And to watch us, the creep. He just sat there eating his lunch and writing in a notebook.

"What do you think he's doing?" I mumbled quietly.

"Probably reviews," Jacob mumbled to me back. "You know the manager has been hounding him to do them."

"Wanna bet he gives us all a bad review?" Nadine grumbled.

I glanced over at Carlos. He glared when he noticed me watching him and scribbled something down in his notebook. I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore him again. The loser had been gunning to get me fired since I first started working here. It's not like it mattered whether or not he actually wrote me a bad review.

After about another hour the lunch rush died down and the two closing barista's came in. Since Jacob was an opener he got one of the closers to take over for him on the register so he could take his lunch break. Twenty minutes later I went to take out the trash and snagged my cell phone on my way out. Usually, I would keep it with me on vibrate, but if Carlos saw it, even if we weren't busy, he would flip out.

Besides… the thought that Arnold might text me at any moment had been in the back of my mind all morning.

"What are you so happy about?" Jacob asked when I stepped out into the back alley.

I started in surprise. I forgot he spent his lunches out here. It made sense though since he liked to smoke during lunch. "N-nothing. Just glad to be out of that hell hole."

I heaved the two heavy trash bags into the dumpster and leaned against the wall next to Jacob. He continued to smoke while watching a video on his phone. Normally when we took breaks together Jacob and I would talk, but today I had other things on my mind. I took out my cell phone and held down the power button. The screen lit up and an anxious knot built in my stomach as I waited for it to come back to life completely.

"Waiting for a text message?" Jacob asked. "Must be pretty important, you look like you're about to jump into the phone."

But when my welcome screen finished loading, there were no waiting messages. The knot in my stomach suddenly felt heavy and I slumped against the wall next to Jacob.

"Nope, not important at all," I grumbled.

Looks like Arnold wasn't going to text me after all. I don't know what felt worse, the fact that he didn't or the fact that I expected him to.

"Hey," Jacob said quietly, "wanna quickie?"

My head snapped up and I glared at him. " _Excuse me!?"_

Jacob chuckled and held out his cigarette towards me. "A quick hit of my cigarette."

"Oh," I let my fists relax and smirked at him. "No thanks. Or I'll wind up smelling like you."

Jacob laughed and gently tugged at my ponytail. "I guess you don't want this smelling like tobacco do you?"

"Yeah and Olga would kill me if I started smoking." I gently knocked his hand away. "You know how crazy she can get."

"So do my parents, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that helps hide the evidence."

Jacob resumed playing with my ponytail and shot him a look that had been known to frighten much bigger men. But Jacob only smiled more and twirled my hair around his fingertips. I just about to bring Ol' Besty out of retirement when my phone suddenly vibrated. My heart leaped into my throat and I forgot all about Jacob as I looked at the screen. It was a picture message from Arnold.

 _Oh, be still my beating heart._ I pressed the notification to see what he sent me. The picture was a selfie Arnold took at Gerald's field, the old baseball field with none other than tall hair boy himself. The message underneath read: **remember when we used to play here? We should organize a game sometime!**

The message was so simple and didn't mean anything special, but Arnold's smile made it special to me. I completely ignored Gerald and focused on the bright grin my old beloved was sporting for the camera. Without realizing it, a sigh escaped from my lips and I felt Jacob's hand freeze then suddenly drop from my hair.

"I'm guessing that's him," Jacob remarked mildly. "Let me guess… the one with the trimmed afro and the goatee?"

I gave him a disgusted look. "Ugh, no!"

"So blondie with the weird head?" Jacob nodded and stubbed his cigarette out. "Figures you'd pick a weirdo."

"Pfft, like you aren't a weirdo?" I sent the picture to my email so I could crop Gerald out later. "I should get back in before Carlos comes looking for me."

"Yeah me too."

Jacob popped a piece of gum in his mouth and offered me one too. We went back to the front together and I put my phone on silent so I could slip it in my back pocket (probably tempting fate). Nadine went to take her break and Jacob went back to the registers. Since there wasn't a huge line I picked up a bin to bus the tables. Every few minutes (when I was sure Carlos wasn't around), I would take out my phone to see if Arnold texted me again. On the fifth hundred time, I got lucky and saw three messages waiting for me.

 **Going to the batting cages with Gerald. Hope I'm not rusty –A**

 **Ugh, I am rusty. Now Gerald won't stop bragging. –A**

 **I remember you used to have the meanest pitch. I should have practiced with you first :P –A**

I nearly swooned right there on the spot. Arnold wasn't just sending me polite, general messages, he was telling me about his day. He wanted me to know how his day was going! He even remembered how I used to play! I quickly looked around to make sure Carlos wasn't in sight and I texted back a reply.

 **Darn straight! I'd whip your noodle arms into shape. You'd think you'd grow some muscles being the jungle –H**

Jacob coughed loudly and I looked up just in time to see Carlos emerging from the back. I quickly stashed my phone away and went to over the machines to look busy.

"Thanks for the heads up," I said to him.

"Blondie must be really special for you to risk your life to text him with Carlos on duty," Jacob said mildly. "Sure you're not hooking up with him behind my back?"

I looked at him and raised half a brow. "A, no and B, since when am I afraid of Carlos?"

"Careful," Jacob leaned closer and lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "his ego might hear and try to prove himself."

I laughed and pushed him away to give myself some space. "You're right. And I definitely don't want to be stuck on closing duty for a month. Again."

Jacob laughed and checked the clock. "Ah sweet, only two hours of my shift left. What about you?"

"Three hours." I grumbled and gave a dry chuckle. "Maybe two and a half for good behavior."

"What's Olga making for dinner tonight?" Jacob asked. "Anything good?"

"Ugh, knowing her probably something healthy and wholesome." I shot him a smirk. "Wanna freak her out and take her home a big greasy pizza instead?"

Jacob grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

"Alright guys," Carlos said coming out of the back room with his stuff and jacket. "I'm heading out for the day. Make sure this place is spotless before you leave. And the cameras are always on so don't try any funny stuff and steal food. Especially you Helga. Don't think I haven't noticed you taking extra-long breaks near the scones."

My eyes narrowed. "You trying to accuse me of something Carlos?"

"Don't worry boss," Jacob roughly patted me on the back. "I'll keep my eye on her. Your precious scones will be safe with me around."

The baristas, including me, began snickering and Carlos face started to turn red with irritation. "You wanna get a write-up Bolton?"

"A write-up?" Jacob gasped and a fake, dramatic fearful expression came on his face. "But with a write-up, how can I ever be employee of the month like you?"

The other baristas tried to hide their giggles this time, but I did nothing to hide mine. This was a dangerous game Jacob was playing but it was definitely making my day. Jacob gave me an appreciative wink while Carlos's face turned a darker shade of red.

"Congratulations Bolton," He said whipping out his write up notebook. "You just earned yourself _two_ write-ups."

He quickly wrote them out on his pad and ripped them out so fast that he nearly ripped the book in two. Jacob took the citations with his ironic smile and saluted him.

"Thank you chief, I'll frame them and treasure them always," He said.

Carlos narrowed his eyes, but chose to back down when he saw Jacob wasn't. As soon as he left I whipped out my phone to see if Arnold texted me back yet. He hadn't, but that didn't bother me. I decided to text him.

 **Hey, pizza at my house tonight. I can maybe squeeze you in, any particular toppings you like? –H**

Part of me hoped that he wouldn't bring Gerald along, but, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if he did. Just seeing him, his smile, hearing his laugh-

 **Can't. Dinner with Gerald's family. –A**

No apology, no trying to reschedule. Just a no. Sure he had a reason but the disappointment stung all the same. My fell must have fallen though because Jacob noticed and looked over my shoulder at my phone.

"Well, looks like it's just me and you, babe," He said brightly, throwing his arm around my shoulder. "And your sister of course, but I'm not too disappointed."

An unwilling smile twitched onto my lips. "Funny, but how many times do I have to tell you, Jacob? Paws off!"

"Of course Miss Pataki." Jacob took his arm off my shoulder and backed off with a smirk on his face. "Whatever you wish."

 _Trust me, there's only one thing I'm wishing for, but it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon._ I sighed quietly and looked at the photo Arnold sent me again. His green eyes were so warm and inviting, it was almost like he was personally inviting me to be with him.

That or I was just slipping back into my stalking phase.

 **A/N- Sorry for the slow update. Not much going on in this chapter but I'm trying to set some things up ;) Anyways, I hoped you liked it and please leave me a review if you don't mind.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**It isn't the lack of self-esteem, but the excess of it that's the problem. The excess is what tricks you into thinking that things will be different next time. That you're better now so the situation will be different now. That's how you fall into the same traps over and over again. It isn't that you don't think you're better, it's that you think you can handle things better.**_

My fingers paused on the keyboard as the words paused in my mind. What I wrote wasn't exactly poetry, but it was pretty poetic in its own way. And it felt real.

"That's because it is real," I mumbled to myself.

My finger hovered over the backspace button but I didn't have the heart to erase it. Every word felt precious to me, they were each tiny drops of my soul. The inner workings of my twisted, complicated mind. I brought up my email and opened the picture Arnold had sent me earlier. The Arnold in the photo smiled at me with warm green eyes and a bright smile.

As always a loving sigh escaped my lips. "Oh Arnold, you golden Adonis you. Your smile is warmer than the sun itself. If only I could open my soul to you the way you open your own soul through your smiles."

The Arnold photo continued to smile at me, completely silent and unresponsive. That was the trouble with photographs, though. Whatever emotion they displayed for the camera was the only emotion they could ever display. Photo Arnold would continue to smile at me no matter what I said to him. A complete and utter contrast to the real Arnold, who I could easily piss off with a single word or lack thereof. I pulled my current, non-poetry journal and a pen so I could write something else.

 _Gosh, darn it, Arnold! Why did you have to come back now of all times!? Couldn't you have waited until I had a better handle on myself? Until I knew how to handle our particular situation better? Sure I guess I could act normal around you and pretend we didn't have history, but we did. We do. And… part of me doesn't want it to be history. More like part I and part II. The angst-fill prologue to a beautiful love story._

"Pfft, yeah right." I scoffed and snapped the journal shut. "In my dreams. Beautiful love story my left, nonexistent nut."

 _Who the heck was I kidding? Arnold and my relationship will always be complicated and drama-filled, whatever path we end up choosing. Guess I'm just gonna have to deal with it._

Downstairs I heard the front door open and Olga's voice suddenly rang out in her sickly sweet voice.

"Helga sweetie, I'm home!" Olga called out. "Sorry I'm a little late but I bought dinner."

"Great!" I yelled back. "What are we having?"

"Seared tuna and green bean medley. I hope you're hungry, baby sister!"

My stomach growled even as I scowled. "Unfortunately, yes."

It wasn't that Olga was a bad cook. Scratch that, Olga could cook but unfortunately, she always choose to cook disgusting healthy crap.

"Ugh, where's Jake with that pizza?" I grumbled glancing at the clock. "He got off hours ago, he should have been here already."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. I silently prayed that it was Jacob, promising bodily harm to him if it wasn't, and raced downstairs to answer it before Olga did.

"Finally!" I said opening the door. "What took you so long?"

Jacob smiled down at me carrying two boxes of pizza and a soda under his arm. He laughed as I yanked the pizza boxes from him and pushed past me as I tried to close the door.

"Is that any way to greet your dinner savior?" He chuckled.

"Seared tuna and green beans," I grumbled. "I hate green beans."

"Aww, but if you don't eat your vegetables how will you grow up big and strong like me?" Jacob teased.

He leaned over me to accentuate the minor height difference between us. Balancing the pizza boxes in one hand I hit him hard in the stomach, making him double over in pain.

"Ha! Now who's taller?" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Who are you talking to baby sister?" Olga asked from the kitchen.

"It's Jacob, Olga," I said walking into the kitchen. "And he brought some real food with him."

Olga turned away from the cupboard where she was talking out a pan and frowned when she saw the pizza boxes I was carrying.

"But Helga I'm already making dinner," She said gesturing to the greens and fish on the counter.

"I know, Jacob came just in time," I muttered.

"Sorry Olga," Jacob chuckled and took a seat next to me. "But if it helps I also brought a vegetarian pizza."

Olga huffed in annoyance and began putting food away. "Fine. But Helga, this is dinner tomorrow and I don't want to hear anything about it."

"So you say," I mumbled under my breath making Jacob laughed.

"So how's the acting going, Olga?" Jacob asked, helping himself to a slice. "Break any leading co-stars hearts?"

Olga blushed with a modest giggle. "Oh dear no, I want to focus on my art right now. Not any relationship. Besides, any extra time I devote to taking care of my baby sister, you know that Jakey."

I gagged out loud, fully displaying the chewed up pizza in my mouth. Jacob bursts out laughing while my sister looks disgusted and shook her head.

"Perhaps this is your hint that you would like me to leave you and your little friend alone Helga?" She sighed and got up from the table. "All you had to do was ask baby sister. I keep telling you that we need to work on our communication skills."

Great, now I felt guilty. Whenever Olga choose to be understanding instead of overbearing, I really did feel like a horrible sister.

"Sunday," I said. "We can hang out all day Sunday and I'll let you fix whatever me whatever you want me to eat."

Olga squealed and grabbed my hands. "Oh, do you mean it baby sister? We gonna have so much fun together!"

"You know what you two should do?" Jacob smiled brightly with a teasing glance my way. "Have a spa and makeover day!"

I reared back my fist and punched Jacob as hard as I could in the arm, but it was already too late. Olga was already screaming in excitement, nearly bursting my ear drums.

"Oh my gosh, we haven't had one of those in ages!" She squealed. "We could get our nails done, and our hair done, and go shopping for the cutest clothes."

As she went on babbling about how much fun we were going to have, I turned to Jacob and gave him a murderous look. He smiled blandly at me and took a large bite of pizza.

After Olga _finally_ went upstairs to clear and rearrange her schedule, I loaded a plate with pizza slices (skipping the veggie ones of course) and headed into the living room. I turned on the tv and blatantly ignored Jacob as he sat down on the floor next to me. Even when he leaned against me I ignored him. Even as he said my name over and over again. Even as he stuck his finger in his mouth and put the soggy digit in my ear-

"Gah!" I yelled jumping up. "What are you twelve!?"

"I don't like being ignored." Jacob shrugged. "So I got your attention."

"Ugh, you're so annoying sometimes," I said plopping down next to him.

"Yeah well, you know you love me," He said shoving more pizza in his mouth.

Jacob then reached into his pocket and pulled out his pack cigarettes. I quickly snatched them from him and cast a fearful glance at behind us.

"Are you crazy? You can't smoke here!" I hissed in a whisper. "If Olga catches you-"

"She won't," Jacob said simply. "Trust me, I used to smoke all the time when I lived with my parents. I know how to hide the smell and everything."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Yeah but Olga isn't as completely oblivious as she used to be."

"Just one?" Jacob cocked his head and offered me a cigarette. "Come on, Pataki. You never know until you try it."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Never know what?"

"You know," Jacob's smile widened, "if you're edgy like me."

"You? Edgy? Ha! More like generic emo bad boy."

But I couldn't help but eye the cigarettes curiously. Sure in school they told us all about the evils of tobacco, but I've heard from Jacob and other smokers that cigarettes have a way of mellowing you out. Maybe that's what I needed. Something to suppress my more aggressive nature, and maybe then I could be more normal around Arnold. Heck, maybe he'll even be interested in me. Jacob noticed my hesitation and gently placed a cigarette against my lips. I snatched it from him and put it between my lips myself. He pulled his lighter and I felt my dumb courage begin to abate a little. But before Jacob could strike a flame, the doorbell suddenly rang.

 _Oh, thank you, Phoebe._ I thanked her silently without really knowing why. I didn't even question why she would be stopping by unannounced when she would usually call or text first. But who else could it be stopping by?

Once again, Fate had its little laugh at my expense. Opening the door, I came face to face with non-other than Arnold.

"Hey Helga," Arnold grinned at me, like showing up at my doorstep was no big deal. He held out a paper plate with a large slice of tiramisu covered with plastic wrap on it. "Wants some tiramisu?"


	8. Chapter 8

**You wanna know something funny? Jacob/Jake was never really planned as a full character in this story but I liked him so much that I kept him in it. This story will tend to evolve as it is reviewed and updated but I will try to stay as consistent as possible. Thank you so much for all the reviews and reading my stories.**

* * *

All I could do was stand there and stare at him. It was pretty ridiculous actually. I saw him almost every day all through my life and recently within the past three days, but the sight of him right in front of me still froze me on the spot. My mind was almost completely numb, but one thought did manage to make its way through the fog: _At least I'm not slamming the door in his face._

"Um, Helga?" Arnold asked with a concerned tone. "Did you hear me? I said I brought some tiramisu for you."

I blinked and felt myself come back from my little mental vacation. He was giving me a cautious smile, more real than the grin he gave in the photo. His unexpected and sudden presence made me nervous. And what did I do when I was nervous?

"Yeah I heard you, bucko." I scowled, leaning in the door frame. "But I'm just trying to figure out what the heck you're doing here unannounced and _uninvited._ "

Arnold's smile disappeared instantly. "Well, you did invite me earlier. Was there an expiration date that I wasn't aware of?"

 _No, of course, there wasn't. You can stop by anytime. I'll even give you a key._ "You're darn right there was!" I yelled instead. "Any invite from me is a one-time only deal. You turn it down, that's it."

Arnold's scowl now matched mine. "I told you that I already had plans with Gerald! Why do you always have to be so selfish? You're not the only one I came back to see you know."

I felt my body jerk as if he slapped me. Selfish. Arnold had just called me selfish. I knew all along that he hadn't come back to the jungle just to see me, but the confirmation still stung. Arnold wasn't even looking at me anymore. His face was angry and he was looking down at his feet breathing heavily.

"Sorry." I blurted out. "I… I didn't mean-"

"I know," Arnold glanced up with a rueful smile, "you never do."

There was an awkward beat between us and neither of us said anything. Arnold didn't ask to come in again but he also didn't offer to leave. I realized that this meant it was my turn to make a move so I made a split second decision. I opened the door wider and walked inside, letting Arnold decide whether or not he wanted to come in. I breathed a silent sigh of relief when I heard the door close and Arnold's footsteps behind me. I was so relieved in fact, that I completely forgot about one little thing…

"Hey, make sure you tell Olga that she's out of sodas." Jacob stepped out of the kitchen with the last can and stopped when he saw Arnold. His glanced at me, his lips curling into a teasing smirk. "Who's your little friend Helga?"

"Um…" I froze, suddenly feeling guilty even though I had no reason to be. Arnold stepped up beside me and offered him a polite smile.

"Hey, I'm Arnold," He said breezily. "Are you a friend of Olga's?"

"The name's Jake," Jacob stepped up to Arnold and held out his hand. "And I'm a friend of Helga's, not Olga's."

Arnold's polite smile remained on his face as he clasped Jacob's hand and shook it. And by shake I mean they gripped each other's hands so tightly that their arm muscles bulged. I took a moment to appreciate the new found muscles I spied in Arnold's arm. A brief fantasy of him wrapping those arms around me flashed through my eyes before I decided to finally come down to earth.

" _Jacob_ works with me at the coffee shop," I explained to Arnold. "He brought over pizza so I wouldn't have to suffer through Olga's healthy, home-cooked meal."

"Well, I hope you saved room for dessert." Arnold smiled, brandishing the tiramisu he was still holding.

"I'll go get some forks," I said making a quick escape.

My heart was pounding as I rifled through the kitchen drawers. The joy of Arnold actually being in my house was shadowed by Jacob's presence. If there was one thing Jacob loved it was tormenting me. Usually, I could take it and pay him back in full, but around Arnold, almost all of my senses and witty repertoire went out of the window. By the time I came back into the living room Arnold and Jacob were sitting on opposite sides of the couch with the dessert on the table in front of them. Both of them were on their phones in total silence. I did notice that Arnold kept giving Jacob wary glances. Unfortunately, I couldn't even say it was out of jealousy. Even though Jacob acted like a child half the time, he was still a good six years older than me and covered with tats. Arnold was probably being a protective friend instead of a jealous ex.

"Got the forks," I said, tossing them onto the living room table. "Anyone need a plate?"

"Nah, I'm good." Jacob peeled back the plastic on the plate and dug into the tiramisu directly in the middle. Arnold frowned and I rolled my eyes.

"Jacob-"

"Jake." He corrected me with his mouth full.

"It's okay, Helga. I don't mind." Arnold, ever the peacemaker, moved over to make a spot for me on the couch. "Are you going to come sit down?"

"Yeah, yeah don't rush me," I mumbled irritably.

The truth was I was nervous. Jacob was watching me with a weird look in his eyes. Probably trying to figure out the funniest way to humiliate me. Or to pry in my business. I shot him a threatening warning look and sat down between him and Arnold.

"So Helga," Jacob grinned and my body went cold, "Is this the cute, adventurous ex-boyfriend Nadine was telling me about?"

" _JAKE!"_ I shrieked jumping up.

"Helga?" Olga called from upstairs. "Is everything alright? You and Jake aren't roughhousing again are you?"

"No Olga we're fine! Just leave us alone, criminy!" I shouted, losing my temper as always.

A gentle touch on my hand made me jerk. I spun around to see Arnold gentle lace his fingers through mine and tug me back to sit down on the couch. I practically fell back on the couch, barely stopping a sigh from escaping my lips. The smallest touch from my old beloved still had the power to soothe even the wildest of my emotional storms. He even gave me a soft smile before turning his attention to Jacob.

"To answer your question, yes I am Helga's, um, ex-boyfriend," Arnold said with a small bashful blush. "I don't know about the adventurous part, but I did just get back from San Lorenzo."

Jacob nodded and flashed me another look. "Huh, that's funny because Helga never mentioned you."

I felt Arnold's hand stiffen, but then grip mine a little firmer. "She didn't? Well, I'm not really surprised. Helga doesn't open up to people unless she really trusts them."

Jacob's eyes narrowed and he shoved another forkful of cake into his mouth. Arnold also scooped up a bit of cake and ate it, leaving a small amount of whipped cream on the corner of his mouth. He turned to smile at me and held up another bite on his fork.

"Aren't you going to eat any?" He offered.

"Uh-huh," I mumbled still distracted by his lips. I almost didn't notice when it held the fork up to my lips until the sweet scent of coffee wafted up my nose. I opened my mouth and Arnold gently placed the fork in my mouth. The sweet taste of vanilla and coffee overtook my taste buds.

Jacob's gave a forced laugh. "You'd think we'd get sick of coffee flavored desserts by now eh Helga? You know, since we've been working at Hill-O-Beans and stealing food there for more than two years now."

"Actually, Helga loves tiramisu," Arnold said practically shoving another forkful into my mouth. "Remember that café I used to take you to, Helga? You ordered the tiramisu once and you never wanted to order anything else."

"Yeah I remember," I chuckled. "You took me there to grovel for my forgiveness after this huge fight we had."

Arnold laughed. "Yeah we had a lot of those back in the day didn't we?"

"Yeah, it's easy to get in a fight with Helga," Jacob said conversationally. "But what's really hard is getting her to laugh. And getting her to laugh at you doesn't count."

"Trust me, Jake, I've known Helga long enough to do both."

Arnold and Jacob kept polite smiles on their faces but the tension hung thick in the air. _Oh my gosh, is Arnold jealous after all?_ The thought seemed preposterous, a crazy figment of my imagination. But for all their polite smiles, Arnold and Jacob might as well have been scowling at each other. It made sense for Jacob. Despite his British upbringing, he was a bonafide jerk at the best of times. But for Arnold to stoop to his level was something else entirely.

Jacob's phone rang just then and he checked it with a small frown. "Uh, I forgot that I was supposed to meet with my pops. I should probably get going."

I snickered. "Yeah better run home to daddy before he disinherits you. Then how could you afford your emo black hair dye?"

Jacob punched me in the shoulder and got off of the couch, taking the remaining tiramisu with him. He stopped on the threshold of the living and turned back to give me one last smile.

"Oh and Helga," His black eyes glittered mischievously, "make sure you and your little _friend_ don't make too much noise. Don't want to disturb Olga do you?"

"Get out of here!" I screamed and threw one of the couch pillows at him.

Jacob's laughter echoed through the hallway and out of the front door. I flopped back against the couch again and blew my hair out of my eyes. Arnold leaned back against the couch as well, so close that I could smell his shampoo or body wash or whatever it was. It made my heart beat and a small smile made its way on to my lips. His arm came behind me, not quite draping it across my shoulders, but on the couch back.

"So your friend Jake is some character," Arnold said casually. "How long have you two known each other?"

I shrugged. "He was working at the coffee shop before I got there. Sort of trained me and showed me the ropes. Hope he didn't bother you too much. He's sort of a-"

"Jerk?" Arnold gave me a half smile. "Nah, he wasn't too bad. I've met worse guys."

"Ha ha so have I."

We sat in silence for a minute. Then another minute. By the third minute, I was getting downright annoyed. Why did the heck Arnold come here in the first place if he wasn't planning on talking? I didn't do well with these awkward silences.

"So…" I prompted. "You gonna contribute actual conversation or you just gonna sit there and dent my couch cushions?"

Arnold laughed. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something."

"Oh?" I turned my body so I was facing him, my long legs tucked under me. "Tell me, what's going in that football head of yours?"

"Your letters. The ones you wrote and kept instead of sending to me?"

 _Well, that was unexpected._ A sweat broke out under my armpits. "What of them? You don't need them now do you?"

"I would like to read them." Arnold insisted.

I shifted uncomfortably on the couch. The letters were mostly tame, just about what happened around Hillwood while Arnold was gone. But a lot of those letters also contained personal family stuff, and of course, every single letter had the undertones of my undying love for him. Not exactly something for the ex-boyfriend to read. Some of what I was thinking must have shown on my face because Arnold sighed and gave me a pleading look.

"Helga," He brushed his fingers against my cheek sending shivers down my spine. "I would really like those letters, Helga."

I looked into his green eyes and found myself lost in his innocent gaze. My mouth went dry and my chest tightened. I was on the verge of saying yes, but then I forced myself to look away. _Focus Helga girl, focus!_ I mentally slapped myself.

"I can't." I finally managed. "They're sort of personal and sort of therapy. I should probably just throw them… away…"

The words died on my lips as I felt Arnold clasp my hands firmly in his own. Electricity shot through my body like the time I licked a nine-volt battery. I glanced back up to see him giving me a pleading, but cautious smile.

"Please don't throw them away," He begged, "I really, really want to read them. So I can, you know, get to know you again. So it can be like I never left you."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes, turning to ridicule- my oldest and most faithful friend. "You're joking, right? Those letters aren't _me_ Arnoldo, they're who I used to be. If you want to get to really know me now, you're going to have to have to put in the actual work."

 _And don't think you're going to get off easy just because we have some history, buster._ I thought it, but I didn't say it out loud. Truth be told, I felt proud of myself for not just falling into his arms, but that didn't mean I wanted to scare him off either. But Arnold was already laughing.

"That's okay, being friends with you is always work."

Friends. Again, another verbal slap in the face. But Arnold's expression was warm so maybe there was something beyond friendship?

"Right." I smiled thinly. "Friends."


	9. Chapter 9

I will say this for ol' football head, he meant what he said about working to get to know me again.

 **Monday (text messages)**

 _ **So wat kinda hellish shift you got today? –A (10:22 am)**_

 **Morning doi. Why else would I be awake and talking to you? -H (10:23 am)**

 _ **Are you at work now? Should I stop texting you so you won't get in trouble? -A (10:25 am)**_

 **Nah you're good. Carlos decided to favor us all by having the day off today. –H (10:27 am)**

 **It's pretty slow now so I'm just baking fresh scones. Blueberry are my fav right now. –H (10:28 am)**

 _ **Lol. I didn't know you can cook. Do they give you a cute little apron to wear too? –A (10:32 am)**_

 **Hardy har har. – H (10:36 am)**

 **First of all, ive known how to cook since I was like 11. Lord knws Miriam wouldn't/couldn't –H (10:38 am)**

 **Second of all the scones come to us premade from a local bakery. We just bake the dough. -H (10:40 am)**

 _ **Still the thought of you in the kitchen is pretty cute. Maybe you can cook for me sometime ;) –A (10:44 am)**_

 _ **Helga? You still there? –A (10:56 am)**_

 _ **Did you get busy with customers? –A (11:07 am)**_

 _ **Oh geez did I piss you off? –A (11:18 am)**_

 _ **Helga, I'm so so sorry. I was only fooling around. Please don't beat me up after work! –A (11:34 am)**_

 **XD Calm down Arnoldo! I did get slammed with customers. –H (11:39 am)**

 **Someone called out so it's just me. –H (11:40 am)**

 _ **Oh thank goodness, for a second I thought my life was over –A (11:43 am)**_

 _ **Is everything alright now? –A (11:45 am)**_

 **Eh, still alone but the rush died down a little. Until then my texts might be slow coming –H (11:53 am)**

 _ **That's okay. I don't plan on going anywhere : ) –A (12:00 pm)**_

 **Lol. What? Don't you have a life? –H (12:06 pm)**

 _ **Not really. Gerald's running errands with his dad. Just hanging at the boarding house. –A (12:09 pm)**_

 _ **I even got my old room back. –A (12:10 pm)**_

 **Wow you really don't have a life. Maybe I should get you a job here –H (12:29 pm)**

 _ **I could definitely use the money –A (12:36 pm)**_

 **Trust me, some things aren't worth minimum wage p –H (12:44 pm)**

 **Besides, even your pacifist nature is no match for this place. –H (12:45 pm)**

 **Two visits from some of our regulars will turn that pretty blond hair of yours white –H (12:46 pm)**

 _ **I'm sure I can handle it. I grew up with you didn't I? –A (12:52 pm)**_

 _ **Btw I'm totally kidding. ;) –A (12:53 pm)**_

 **No you aren't. –H (1:06 pm)**

 **But the difference is I'm just aggressive, these customers are aggressive and stupid –H (1:07 pm)**

 _ **You're not just aggressive Helga. –A (1:10 pm)**_

 **If you're about to insult me SAVE IT FOOTBALL HEAD –H (1:13 pm)**

 _ **No there's more, but my battery died –A (1:15 pm)**_

 _ **I was gonna say that you're also smart and funny and interesting –A (1:16 pm)**_

 _ **Working with you would probably nullify the stupid customers –A (1:18 pm)**_

 **Ooh look who's pulling out their college prep vocab words –H (1:19 pm)**

 **What over words did you learn in jungle high? –H (1:21 pm)**

 ***other –H (1:21 pm)**

 _ **Le gustaría comer conmigo ? –A (1:22 pm)**_

 **Wanna run that by me again? Better not have been an insult. –H (1:23 pm)**

 _ **Lol –A (1:24 pm)**_

 _ **I asked would you like to have lunch with me. What time is good for you? –A (1:24 pm)**_

… **well I'm about to take my lunch break now. So if you're coming over you better book it. –H (1:25 pm)**

 _ **I'll be there in five! : ) –A (1:26 pm)**_

* * *

 **Tuesday/Wednesday (IMing)**

 **H: I'm bored. Say something to me. (sent 9:45 pm)**

 _ **A: I'll message you back in like 5 minutes. I'm in the car with Gerald and the guys. I'll be at my computer in a few. (sent by MyMobile 9:48 pm)**_

 **H: Ugggggggggggghhhhhhhh (sent 9:49 pm)**

 _ **A: Okay, I'm back : ) (sent 10:12 pm)**_

 _ **A: Helga? You still there? (sent 10:15 pm)**_

 **H: Sorry, I was just washing my hair. (sent 10:49 pm)**

 _ **A: No worries, I'm still up. (sent 10:52 pm)**_

 _ **A: Still want to talk or are you going to bed now? (sent 10:54 pm)**_

 **H: I couldn't go to bed if I wanted to. Too wound up to sleep. (sent 10:57 pm)**

 **H: So how was your day football head? (sent 10:58 pm)**

 _ **A: Alright I guess. (sent 10:59 pm)**_

 _ **A: Why are you so wound up? (sent 10:59 pm)**_

 **H: Cuz I am. Now give me details of your day. Maybe it'll bore me to sleep. (sent 11:02 pm)**

 _ **A: Well geez, no need to insult me. LOL (sent 11:03 pm)**_

 _ **A: Let's see, I just got back from hanging with the guys. We went to the movies. (sent 11:06 pm)**_

 **H: Cool. What you see? (sent 11:07 pm)**

 _ **A: Gerald and Sid wanted to see "Evil Twin VII: The Demon Cousin" but Harold and Stinky wanted to see "Flaming Fighting Fists V" (sent 11:10 pm)**_

 _ **A: So we went to see both (sent 11:11 pm)**_

 **H: Ug I still can't believe they still make the evil twin movies. How was it? (sent 11:13 pm)**

 _ **A: Same as any horror movie nowadays. (sent 11:14 pm)**_

 _ **A: Jumpscares. Fake plot twists. CGI effects were decent though (sent 11:15 pm)**_

 **H: Jumpscares and fake plot twists are the best. Who needs atmospheric tension, build up, or a compelling story? (sent 11:18 pm)**

 _ **A: Classic horror fan I see. We should marathon sometime. (sent 11:20 pm)**_

 **H: Maybe. I'll have to fit you into my schedule. (sent 11:21 pm)**

 **H: I'm not quite sleepy yet, but I'm getting close. Tell me more about your day. (sent 11:23 pm)**

 _ **A: Well I hung out with Lila today. We met for an early lunch and caught up. (sent 11:25 pm)**_

 **H: Oo a date with Miss Perfect. Your 4** **th** **grade dream come true. Congratulations. (sent 11:31 pm)**

 _ **A: Ha ha hardly. (sent 11:33 pm)**_

 _ **A: She kept going on and on about how ever so cute the animals must have been. (sent 11:36 pm)**_

 _ **A: I tried to explain that San Lorenzo wasn't just some cute petting zoo but it was like she barely heard me (sent 11:37 pm)**_

 _ **A: I kept waiting for you to rescue me but you never showed. (sent 11:38 pm)**_

 **H: Me? Why would I show up at your little date? (sent 11:42 pm)**

 _ **A: Because we met at your job. (sent 11:45 pm)**_

 _ **A: When I asked where you were one of the baristas told me you were off on Tuesdays. (sent 11:47 pm)**_

 **H: Yeah I do stuff on Tuesdays. (sent 11:48 pm)**

 **H: Not that its any of your business football head (sent 11:48 pm)**

 _ **A: I also noticed that Jacob wasn't there either (sent 11:49 pm)**_

 _ **A: You guys have a date or something? (sent 11:51 pm)**_

 **H: Me and Jacob? No, I told you I was doing stuff. (sent 11:52 pm)**

 _ **A: What kind of stuff? (sent 11:53 pm)**_

 _ **A: Come on, I told you about my day. Tell me about your day. (sent 11:54 pm)**_

 **H: …. (sent 11:57 pm)**

 **H: Fine. (sent 11:59 pm)**

 **H: … (sent 12:01 am)**

 **H: I have dance classes on Tuesdays. They're intense so I like to stay off my feet. (sent 12:03 am)**

 **H: Which is why I take the entire day off. (sent 12:04 am)**

 _ **A: Dance class? I never knew you could dance! (sent 12:05 am)**_

 **H: 1 word to anyone and I will break you in two football head! (sent 12:07 am)**

 _ **A: My lips are sealed but I would love to see you dance some time (sent 12:10 am)**_

 **H: In your dreams. (sent 12:12 am)**

 **H: That's enough sharing for tonight. I am thoroughly sleepy now and I have a closing shift tomorrow. G'nite. (sent 12:15 am)**

 _ **A: Wait! One more thing before you go (sent 12:16 am)**_

 **H: What is it? Make it snappy Arnoldo! (sent 12:17 am)**

 _ **A: Horror movie marathon? (sent 12:19 am)**_

 **H: I said maybe didn't I? (sent 12:22 am)**

 **H: Now good night Arnoldo (sent 12:23 am)**

 _ **A: Good night Helga (sent 12:24 am)**_

* * *

 **Thursday (Skyping)**

 _*Skype(5:50 pm): Calling Helga…Calling Helga…Calling Helga…*_

 **H: "You rang football head?"**

 _ **A: "Hey, sorry did I catch you at a bad time? All I'm hearing is your voice and your screen is black."**_

 **H: "Yeah I have a sock blocking the camera. I just got out of the shower so I'm walking around naked."**

 _ **A: "Um…I-u-um…I…"**_

 **H: "Haha, relax you spaz. I'm in a robe. I'm messing with some fancy hair stuff and I don't want it to stain anything or my skin. I'm waiting for the stuff to set so I can do a second rinse. "**

 _ **A: "Oh…okay…"**_

 **H: "Besides, Olga read this thing about online creepers hacking Skype and webcams and she's been paranoid ever since."**

 _ **A: "That makes sense. You can never be too careful online."**_

 **H: "So did you need something or are you just checking up on my internet safety habits?"**

 _ **A: "Eh, I'm just kinda bored. That's some storm raging out there isn't it? I've been stuck inside all day."**_

 **H: "Same. I had the early shift so I've been off for a few hours. Didn't really feel like seeing anyone so I stayed inside."**

 _ **A: "I would love for someone to hang out with but I didn't feel like battling the storm out there. So what have you been up to today?"**_

O: "Helga? Are you sure you don't want to play a board game with me?"

 **H: "For the last time no! Geez don't you have any adult friends your age?!"**

 _ **A: "Hahaha, is that Olga? She's home too?"**_

 **H: "Yeah she asked for the day off. Coincidence? HA! Besides, I told you I'm waiting for the hair stuff to settle so I can do the second rinse."**

 _ **A: "Tell you what, after your second rinse, if I battle the storm to come over will you play a board game with the both of us?"**_

 **H: "….If you want to play a board game so badly why not play with your grandparents?"**

 _ **A: "Let's put it this way, Grandpa had some bad prawns and Grandma is currently hunting trolls in the basement."**_

 **H: "…. One condition…"**

 _ **A: "Name it."**_

 **H: "You bring over fast food. The works. Double cheese burgers, large French fries, and sodas."**

 _ **A: "Totally! You got it! What time should I come over?"**_

 **H: "Um… hour and a half. And that food better be hot football head or you'll be greeted by ol' Betsy and the five avengers!"**

 _ **A: "Haha, yes Helga. Whatever you say. What did you put in your hair by the way?"**_

 **H: "Nice try hair boy, but it'll be in a towel when you come over."**

 _ **A: "Fine… my grandma is calling me. I'll see you in a few Helga."**_

 **H: "Later football head."**

* * *

Author's Note: So yeah, I wanted to try something different with this chapter. This is just conversations to further develop Arnold and Helga's rekindling... friendship. ;)


	10. Chapter 10

Being friends with Arnold through the barrier of technology was easy.

Until I got Friday afternoon's texts.

 _ **Hey! Don't forget that we have a party to go to tonite : ) –A (sent 1:42 pm)**_

 _ **I can't stop by Hill-O-Beans today but I still plan on picking you up at 8 –A (sent 1:45 pm)**_

 _ **Can't wait to see you XD –A (sent 2:02 pm)**_

At first, I didn't even see the texts. I had been dealing with some nasty customer and then we got hit with a major rush. But as soon as I did, I felt the world spin around me and heat rushed to my face. I don't know how, but I made it through the rest of my shift and played it off to my co-workers like the apocalypse wasn't happening. Sure my hands shook and every blond haired man that walked through the door made me jump, but I acted perfectly natural. But as soon as the clock hit five-thirty, I ran like hell all the way back to my house and booked it straight to the bathroom.

I sniffed at the shirt I was wearing and scowled, "Ugh, I smell like stale coffee and table cleaner."

I threw off my clothes as fast as possible and hopped into the shower. The full blast of the steaming hot water relaxed my muscles but not my mind. Arnold's text messages raced through my head. _'Can't wait to see you'? 'XD'? What the heck does that mean!?_ I half fumed and half daydreamed. The texts and IMs we had been exchanging had made my heart race sure, but this was nothing compared to today's texts. And on top of that, we were going to a party together. Sure I had to hope that Rhonda didn't make a scene and throw me out, but the risk was well worth it.

I used a mango orange citrus body wash to make sure every whiff of stale coffee was erased from my skin. Then I used its companion shampoo to do a quick wash on my hair even though I had just washed it yesterday night. Wrapping myself in a towel, I stepped out of the bathroom. I must have been in longer than I thought because the clock read 6:46 pm.

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" I felt my heart start to hammer in panic.

I only had a little over an hour to get dress and do my hair and possibly make-up before Arnold showed up. Throwing open my closest door, racks of clothes swayed in front of me making my head swim. Who the hell was I kidding!? I wore jeans on my best days, sweats on my better days. What the heck do I know about dressing for a fancy Wellington party? Now the clock read 6:49 pm. I needed help fast.

"Konichiwa, Helga," Phoebe greeted as soon as Skype connected us. "How are you?"

"Panicking! Please tell me that you're going to the Princess's surprise party." I yelled from my closet.

"Of course Helga, Gerald wouldn't hear otherwise."

I felt the tiniest bit of relief. "Good. What kinda clothes are you wearing? I'm completely lost here." I'd rather die than wear a dress, but I didn't want to stick out like a sore thumb like I usually did.

"It's dressy casual so I was planning on wearing a simple dress and leggings," Phoebe said. "But shouldn't you know that Helga? It's on the invitation."

"Yeah about that…" I mumbled.

Phoebe gave a little, surprised gasp. "Helga, aren't you afraid what will happen if Rhonda-"

"Throws me out on my butt? Yeah, but it's not like I have much of a choice." I pawed through a couple of skirts. None of them were completely terrible just not my usual wear. "And don't say I do have a choice Pheebs because I really don't."

"Yes, Helga." Phoebe sighed.

A black leather skirt caught my eye. It was about knee length with a slight pleat and came with a studded belt. I also managed to locate a hot pink, form-fitting top that comes off both of shoulders. I ran back to the laptop, still in my towel, and held up the items. On the screen Phoebe was patiently sitting at her laptop, reading a book. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape of her neck and she had touches on red lipstick on.

"Will these work?" I asked her.

She put the book away and nodded. "Those look nice. When did you get them?"

"Forced shopping trip with Olga," I explained quickly, moving off screen to change. I paired the skirt and top with my only pair of heels. The clock now read 7:26 pm which meant I now had thirty-four minutes left to do my hair.

"Oh, Gerald just showed up Helga. I'll meet you at the party okay?" Phoebe said.

"Yeah, see you in a few!" I called back.

The Skype call went dead but I didn't bother logging out. Instead, I booked it back into my bathroom to do something about my hair. I took a breath and slowly unwrapped the towel from my hair. It was still damp but the bright pink streaks I had recently put in were still vivid amongst my bright yellow natural lock.

"Awesome, it came out perfect." I grinned.

The streaks were my little project that I had been planning on getting for a while now. I didn't want anything too strong to ruin my hair so I asked Sheena for any hook ups. And it definitely cost me a pretty penny.

"Okay, Arnold will be here in thirty minutes," I bit my lip and searched for the blow dryer, "let's see what I can do."

It took the blow dryer, the hard knobby brush, a flat iron and me cycling through curls or no curls before I finally got my hair right. It fell down my back in a sorta messy way but with volume. Equally messy bangs fell across my forehead and framed my face as well.

"Wow." I winked at my reflection. "I actually looked pretty hot."

Surprisingly it was true. The yellow of my hair made the blue of my eyes stand out. And the bright pink streaks made me look like some cool rocker chick instead of some girl going on her first date—

"Ugh!" I groaned and buried my burning face in my hands, "stop spazzing out! This may not even be that kind of date!"

 _But what about this past week?_ A hopeful voice in my head pointed out. _All those messages hint that he's interested._

"Or that we're still friends and he's a nice guy." I mumbled.

 _But still, you never know until you try._

"I know if I try I could get my heart broken all over again."

The hopeful voice in my head fell silent at that.

"See? Now shut up before you make me grow crazy."

I lifted my face from my hands and decided to push my look one step further. I lined my eyes with black eyeliner and glossed my lips with my favorite pink grapefruit lip gloss. And finally, I tied one of my pink ribbons around my throat like a choker. If I looked hot before, I looked even better now. A tiny devious smirk curled my glossy, pink lips.

"Well Arnold," I cackled, "If you're really determined to just be friends, it's your lost football head."

My phone went off in the bedroom and I rushed to answer it. Turns it was my alarm telling me that it was 8:00 pm sharp. A fresh onslaught of nervous butterflies erupted in my stomach. Arnold would be here any minute now.

8:03 pm. Any minute now.

8:05 pm. Any freakin' minute now.

8:09 pm. Yep, he was going to be pulling up any minute filled with apologies.

But then the clock read 8:18 pm.

Twenty minutes late probably didn't seem like a big deal to most girls, but I was most certainly not most girls. Hot tears blurred my vision as I clutched my phone and dialed the prick's number.

"Come on, come on," I paced the floor as the phone kept ringing. Finally, it clicked.

" _Hey, this is Arnold-"_

"Football head you prick!" I screamed.

"— _I'm not at my phone right now, but leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Have a nice day!"_

"Raarg!" A scream tore through my throat as I threw my phone across the room. Then I swore and went after it. Olga would _not_ be happy with me if I asked her to buy me another phone. Again. Thankfully though it landed in one of the many piles of dirty clothes.

"Criminy." My voice came out a small whimper as I started wiping at my eyes.

Whelp. It had happened again. I got my hopes up like an idiot and once again they came crashing down. I mean, who was I kidding? For all I knew Arnold probably changed his mind about taking me and was taking a busty brunette instead.

 _He changed his mind in less than a day and didn't even bother telling you? Does that sound like Arnold to you?_

"Shut up."

But suddenly, the doorbell rang and my heart leaped to my throat. I looked out the window and saw a limo parked right outside and a familiar football dome standing at the door. As if he could sense me pressed to the window like an idiot, Arnold suddenly looked up directly at my window and gave me a sheepish smile and a wave.

I stopped myself from smiling and scowled, quickly moving away from the window. I quickly grabbed a jacket and my house keys and raced downstairs. My heart was still strumming from a mixture of excitement and anger so I took a breath to calm my nerves before I opened the door. My breath caught in my throat as soon as I saw him. Arnold was wearing black jeans, a red t-shirt that fit his chest perfectly, and a blue dress shirt. I shook myself out of my drooling stupor and greeted him with a scowl.

"About time, you showed up football head."

I expected him to grovel and make up an excuse for being late, but he went on staring at me. My face got hot and I started to get all antsy and self-conscious. Maybe I over did it with the make-up and hair thing. Maybe I looked less like a hot rocker and more like some desperate rocker wanna be. But then Arnold smiled, his green eyes shone brightly, and I could have swooned on the spot.

"Helga you look amazing!" He gushed. "Did you do those streaks yourself? Is that what you were hiding under the towel? I love it! It looks amazing!"

I blushed hard and couldn't keep the smile off my face even if wanted to. But that didn't mean I had to giggle like some girly girl or whatever.

"Yeah, yeah, no need to fall at my feet, Arnoldo." I shrugged liked I didn't care and gestured to the limo behind him. "So did you forget to tell me that you're loaded or what?"

"Oh, that?" Arnold shrugged. "Blame Rhonda, she sent the limo to my house because she wanted me to 'make an entrance'. It took me almost forty minutes to convince her that I already had a date and didn't need her to escort me. That's why I was late in the first place."

Another smile broke through before I could stop it. Arnold returned my smile. He then held out his hand towards me and gestured towards the limo. "Shall we?"

My hand hovered over his. For a split second, I imagined myself grabbing his hand and holding it tightly, never letting go. But then the stupid old Pataki pride kicked in.

"No need to get all gentlemanly on me," I scoffed and knocked his hand away. "I can walk you know." I brushed past him and walked towards the limo, feeling my skirt sway as my hips swung. I could have imagined it, but I could have sworn I felt his eyes on me.

The chauffeur opened the door for me and as I slid inside, Arnold quickly caught up and slid in after me. The driver closed the door behind us and I gave a low whistle at the plush and fancy interior.

"I gotta hand it to the princess, she really knows how to set someone up in style." I nodded appreciatively.

Arnold sat next to me and gave another shrug. "Yeah, it's pretty nice. When I was younger I probably would have appreciated it more, but after being out in the real world I kinda lost my taste for luxuries."

"I sure haven't." I ran my hand over the smooth leather seats. "When I was younger I had always imagined being rich enough to go everywhere in a limo. That was a long time ago, though. Right now I would settle for a decent paying job and a relatively clean apartment."

"I slept in a hut for almost two years." Arnold gave me a crooked smile. "You get used to a little dirt here or there."

I chuckled at the thought of Arnold living in a tree house, swinging through vines. Of course, in my fantasies, he was wearing nothing but a loincloth.

"Don't," Arnold laughed, pointing an accusing finger at me, "clear that thought from your head right now."

I gave him a mischievous smile. "Too late. I'm definitely going to start fantasizing about Arnold the Jungle Man."

"Fantasies?" Arnold leaned even closer and his eyes started to twinkle dangerously. "Do you have fantasies about me, Helga?"

"Uhh… I…I…" My smile slipped from my face and I had a hard time recovering it. Somehow we had moved from a friendly conversation into much more dangerous territory. The way Arnold was smiling at me, the way his eyes shone, sent an indescribable thrill down my spine. His arm drifted to rest over my shoulders. Behind him, I could see the city lights, tinted by the dark windows.

"I have some pictures of my trip you know," Arnold said softly, "Really beautiful ones I took with my mom's first camera. I'd love to show you them sometime."

Arnold's bright green eyes held mine and I found myself feeling breathless and light headed. My hand found his knee and he jumped a little at my touch.

"I'd like- love that Arnold."

Suddenly, light flooded the dark interior of the limo as the driver opened the door.

"Sir? Ma'am?" He gave us a small smirk. "We've arrived at the designated location. Or did you want to circle around?"

Arnold cleared his throat in embarrassment and helped me out of the limo. "No thanks. Um… do I tip you or anything?"

"Nope, Miss Lloyd has it all covered." The driver reached into his pocket and handed Arnold a card. "Call me when you need a ride back. A round trip is included."

Arnold thanked the man and the limo drove off. The house, er mansion, in front of us, was beyond huge. You could already hear loud music coming from inside and people milling around. Arnold must have heard my nervous gulp because he grabbed my hand and tucked it in his elbow.

The party was already in full swing when we went inside. The expansive living room had the couches pushed back to make room for a dance floor, DJ booth, and speakers. People came in and out of the kitchen with foods and drinks. It took a few minutes before someone finally noticed us.

"Arnold's back!"

"Hey, Arnold's here!"

"Arnold when did you get here!?"

Everyone crowded around Arnold, chatting excitedly. Hillwood's golden boy was back and everyone wanted to be his best friend. They barely noticed Helga, the old bully of Hillwood, except to throw me an odd look. Probably wondering why the bully ex-girlfriend was hanging on the arm of the adventurous golden boy. But Arnold remained oblivious to my rising discomfort and greeted everyone who was crowding around him, humbly and graciously accepting their numerous compliments.

"Arnold darling, is that you?" An annoyingly familiar, falsetto voice rang out. The guy at the DJ booth changed tracks and a spotlight shone at the top of the staircase. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd herself appeared at the top of the staircase wearing a black and red tight little number. She came down the stairs with a large, red-lipped smile and a swing to her hips. I rolled my eyes as most of the guys openly checked her out. But that phony smile of hers turned into a nasty scowl as soon as she noticed me.

"Oh no. No way. Absolutely not!" Rhonda scowled and pointed a manicured finger at me. "What the hell are you doing here Pataki? I told you that I never wanted to see your face around me ever again!"

I returned her ugly sneer with one of my own. I was just about to tell her where she can shove her fake plastic fingernail when I felt Arnold's arm wrap around my waist and pull me close to him. Whatever I was about to say completely slipped from my mind when I felt his warmth pressing into me.

"Actually Rhonda, Helga is here with me," Arnold explained patiently. "I _asked_ her to be my date to my welcome back party. This party is still for me right?"

"Well, of course, it is Arnold." Rhonda pouted. "But I just don't see why you had to bring Helga of all people. I mean, she's your _ex-_ girlfriend remember? I still can't believe you dated her in the first place."

"BITE ME YOU SNARKY BIT-"

"Helga!" Arnold's eyes and voice were firm, but I could hear the laugh in his voice and there was an amused twinkle in his eyes. His hand gripped my side a little firmer and he turned back to Rhonda, still patient. "Helga is my date, Rhonda. Now she can either be my date here at this incredible party you were nice enough to throw me, or she can be my date at the movie theaters. It's your choice, Rhonda."

There was a surprised murmur around the crowd as Rhonda's face started turning as red as her nails. Arnold's voice had been completely friendly and there was a smile on his face, but there was an underlying forceful tone to his words. Rhonda's beady little eyes darted around to gauge the mood of the people around us. Finally, she sighed and tossed her hair.

"Fine! I guess she can stay." Rhonda huffed. Her eyes briefly scanned me and I shifted, ready to punch her if I needed to. "At least, you don't look like the total mess that you usually do."

I lunged at the broad, and princess nearly tripped over her heels to get away from me. Arnold gave a little chuckle and led me over to sit on one of the couches. The mini crowd parted for us and dispersed to keep partying.

"So what was all that about?" Arnold laughed as we sat down. "I knew you and Rhonda weren't the best of friends, but wow. I never saw her that mad at you before."

I groaned and flopped back on the couch. "It's a looooong story."

"Well, we have plenty of time."

Arnold's smile was encouraging and intoxicating. I opened my mouth to start explaining when there was another commotion near the front door.

"Oh no, absolutely, positively not!" Rhonda shrieked. "It's bad enough that I had to let _her_ in, there's no way I'm letting you in too."

Arnold craned his neck to see what was going on but I already knew. There was only one other person that Rhonda hated more than me right now.

"Rhonda, babe relax. You're always so high strung." Jacob chuckled. Behind him were a group of guys varying of college and high school age carrying instruments and booze. Jacob himself was holding two cases of beers.

"Besides, I brought the band and the booze you wanted." He continued.

"Drop them at the door and get out!" Rhonda screamed.

Arnold turned to me in confusion. "Um, any idea why Jake's here and why Rhonda hates him so much?"

"Besides the fact that Jacob is a class one a-hole?" I laughed with a shake of my head. "Ugh, unfortunately… Jacob is Rhonda's ex-boyfriend. Emphasis on ex."

I could see Arnold's brain working as he tried to connect the dots. He gave me an inquisitive look and continued to prompt me, "And Rhonda hates you because…"

"Because…" I bit my lip and decided to blunder it. "Rhonda thinks I stole Jacob from her."


	11. Chapter 11

Sooner or later I knew the bimbos at the party would eventually separate me from Arnold. And forever the nice guy, Arnold never pushed them away or told them to get lost. So now he was sitting on the couch surrounded by his adoring female fans while I fumed against the wall.

"You know, you could still talk to him." Phoebe pointed out, standing next to me.

"Like I care." I scoffed and forced myself to look away from him smiling and laughing with a red head. "Come on, let's see if Rhonda's got some decent grub in this joint."

"Following!" Phoebe piped, forever loyal, and trailed behind me into the kitchen.

There were a few people chatting it up in the kitchen, and one couple was making out next to the fridge. I grabbed myself a paper plate and a couple of shrimp puff things and some sauce. I wasn't really that hungry, but I wanted something to distract me. Pheebs and I picked a spot in the corner and she hopped onto the kitchen counter next to me. She looked pretty good with a dark blue t-shirt dress with black leggings and short boots. The red lipstick was also a nice touch, but she was noticeably missing one thing…

"So where's tall hair boy?" I asked popping a few of the shrimp things in my mouth. "Shouldn't he be attached to you at public events?"

Phoebe gave me a small shrug and a smile. "I don't mind Gerald hanging out with other people. We're comfortable enough in our relationship to spend time apart in a social event."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You're in a perfectly happy and healthy relationship. Whoopdie-freakin-do."

Phoebe laughed good-naturedly. "It's actually much harder than you think. We have to keep the lines of communication open at all times. No hiding any feelings good or bad."

"Where'd you get that corny line? A self-help relationship book?"

"Um, actually… yes."

Phoebe looked completely serious and I couldn't help but laugh. She and Gerald had the most static, yet loving, most boring textbook healthy relationship that I ever witnessed outside of 90's afterschool specials. And yet, Phoebe was completely happy and content. After a while, Phoebe began to giggle as well. A low obnoxious whistle interrupted our good time. I looked up and groaned in annoyance when I saw Jacob entering the kitchen. He was followed by two of his friends who were carrying a cooler filled with ice and beers.

Jacob grabbed three beers and headed towards us. "Aw Pataki, you didn't have to dress up just for me."

"No thanks." I waved away both the beer and the compliment.

He offered Phoebe one and she politely declined, reminding him, not for the first time, that the two of us were still legally underage. Jacob merely shrugged and opened one against the counter for himself.

"So what'd you say to the princess to worm your way into this party?" I asked as he got comfortable next to me.

"Reminded her that I had the best booze hook-up this side of Hillwood." Jacob winked. "My ex's still got a thing for cherry schnapps. And me."

I rolled my eyes with a snort but Phoebe gave him an exasperated look. "I really wish you wouldn't indulge Rhonda's recent liking to alcohol. She's still underage and you could get her into serious trouble."

"Ah, Heyerdahl I love it when you lecture me on my horrible morals." Jacob chuckled. "But in my defense, her royal highness was sipping wine at her parent's parties long before she met me."

"Yeah and I'm sure a relationship with you would have probably driven her to drinking anyway." I snickered. "But Pheeb's is right, don't get the girl in trouble. Her parent's would probably ship her off to boarding school or something."

"Worked wonders for me, love." Jacob gave a mock salute before downing more beer.

Phoebe and I exchanged a look and I saw amusement behind her annoyed expression. I couldn't blame her. I used to not be able to stand Jacob before I got to know him better. I almost didn't even flinch when he draped an arm around my shoulders and brought me a little closer to him. I gave him a withering glare, but he only smiled and brought his lips to my ear.

"I really like this new look of yours," He whispered. "I think pink is becoming my new favorite color."

"Boundaries, Dolton or I'll have to crack a rib." I elbowed him away but that didn't stop the blush from my face. It wasn't that I really cared about Dolton liking my look or whatever, but compliments were still a rarity. I was still catching a guy or two throwing looks my way.

"Seriously, Helga," Jacob insisted with a genuine smile. "I think you look really nice."

"Whatever Jacob," I rolled my eyes but I wrapped my arm around his waist and gave him a small affectionate squeeze.

"There you are Helga, I've been looking all over for you."

The very sound of _his_ voice nearly made my heart stop and I looked up to see Arnold coming into the kitchen with Gerald. Tall hair boy shot a look at Jacob and moved protectively close to Phoebe. My arm immediately dropped from Jacob's waist and Arnold easily moved in between us.

"Where'd you go?" Arnold chuckled. "One minute I was talking to someone and when I looked up you were gone."

The smile instantly fell from my face. Right, the bimbos. "Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt your meeting with your little fan club."

"Ooh, she's scowling." Jacob laughed mockingly. "Now you've done it."

"Please, when isn't Pataki scowling?" Gerald rolled his eyes and Phoebe quickly nudged him.

"Whenever I manage to make her smile," Arnold said with a cocky wink.

A smile broke on my face before I could stop it and I tried to cover it up by biting my lower lip.

"Smooth, my man, smooth." Gerald nodded in approval. He then turned to Phoebe with a loving smile. "But I came here to see you, my lady. Care to dance, sweetheart?"

Phoebe blushed and beamed at him. "Why certainly Gerald."

They left the kitchen holding hands and I found myself (surprise, surprise) completely envious. But then Arnold cleared his throat and gave me a gentle nudge.

"So um," He started nervously, "I was actually wondering if you wanted to dance too, Helga? With me?"

My head snapped toward him, surprise written all over my face. Had Arnold really just asked me to dance? Me? Not some redheaded or brown haired bimbo?

"Yes!" I said a bit too eagerly. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Whatever floats your boat, Arnoldo."

Arnold smiled in relief and we followed Gerald and Phoebe out into the living room's dance floor. Gerald and Phoebe were already dancing close together, Gerald a little more on the beat than his more conservative girlfriend. When we found our own spot on the dance floor, I expected Arnold to stand at a respectful middle school dance distance, but he stood so close to me that I could see the amber undertones in his green eyes and feel the heat radiating from his body. I stood frozen to the spot, mesmerized by his very presence until I realized there was music playing around us and I remembered that Arnold was waiting for me to start dancing. My years of dance class left me completely as I moved my hips and arms stiffly at first, completely off-beat from the fast paced music. Arnold laughed and grabbed my arms to get me to move faster.

"I can dance football head!" I yelled snatching my arms back.

But Arnold just laughed. "Oh yeah?" He grabbed my arms again, pushed me back and pulled me back in with a crossover spin move that brought my back to his chest. The heat rushed to my face as I felt his heart beating against my back. "Prove it," he crooned in my ear.

My weak smile disappeared at the challenging tone in his voice and was replaced with my signature Pataki shark grin. "You asked for this football head. Hope you don't have two left feet."

Arnold spun me back around to face him and our noses brushed. "Same to you Pataki."

I laughed and pushed him away, doing a little spin with a swing of my hips. This time, I let my competitive nature and the fast pace of the music move me. Our bodies moved in tight circles around each other to a generic hip-hop party song. My hips swayed causing my skirt to swing around my thighs and my hair flew around me every time I spun. Arnold, surprise, surprise, was actually able to keep up with me. His hips moved with mine, occasionally giving me a light bump, and he was surprisingly just as light on his feet as I was. And he kept touching me. Grabbing my hand to briefly pull me towards him before letting me go again. Placing his hands on my hips to guide me into a little twirl. I was in absolute heaven.

"So," Arnold said above the music, "you never finished telling me about the whole Jacob and Rhonda thing."

I slowed my steps a little out of surprise and confusion. "What?"

"You know what I'm talking about," Arnold grabbed my hand and gave me a quick spin under his arm, "Did you really steal Jacob from Rhonda?"

"Ew no!" I laughed out loud and gave him a rough hip bump. "Don't listen to Princess. He trained me at the coffee shop, we hung out outside of work once in a while and the princess started getting clingy so he dumped her like the jerk he is."

"And Rhonda blames you for that?" Arnold spun me around and brought my back to his chest again. And then held me there. I almost forgot to breathe. "Yeah, the twat's a pain in my anus."

"Helga!" He was laughing though as he spun me away from him.

But then the sound of static cut off the music and, unfortunately, ending our good time. I snarled over at where the stupid band was setting up. But Arnold gave a breathy laugh and put an arm around my shoulders.

"I was getting pretty tired anyway." He chuckled. "Wanna get something to drink?"

I sigh and gave him a mocking smile. "Told you couldn't keep up with me."

"Well, I'm obviously at a disadvantage." He gave a pointed glance at my long legs and looked back at me. "Come on, let's head back to the kitchen."

Honestly, I would have followed Arnold into the depths of the netherworld if he asked me. His thumb gave mine an absent caress as he gripped my hand and led me into the kitchen. Phoebe, now leaning against the wall talking to Gerald, eyed our clasped hands and gave me a questioning look. I shrugged, not ready to confirm or deny anything, but I knew my smile gave me away. A couple of bimbos gave me a nasty look as we walked by them and made my smile grow. Helga-1, bimbos- 0.

Once in the kitchen, I grabbed myself a soda and was surprised to see Arnold grab a Corona from the cooler. He noticed me staring at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked taking a swig. "Drinking laws are different overseas."

"Yeah but you? Mr. Goodness and Sunshine drinking alcohol?" I scoffed. "I'd sooner believe ol' Geraldo taking ballet classes."

"Like you?" Arnold snickered.

"Shuddup."

His laughter resonated through my very soul and I inwardly thanked every being in the universe that brought us to this point. The point where we could laugh together like this with our affections able to fall either way. _We could do this as friends._ I thought to myself. _I could totally handle us at this level. Close but not too close. Friendly but not too friendly. No harm, no heartbreak. Perfect._

"Hey, Arnold," A girl with cropped brown hair I remembered from middle school saddled up to Arnold, "I didn't know you would be here."

"Well, technically it was supposed to be my welcome back party." He laughed.

Cropped hair giggled and playfully hit his chest. "Oh Arnold, you're still as funny as I remembered you being."

The soda can made loud snapping sound as my thumb dented the aluminum. But I wasn't jealous or anything. As a matter of fact, to prove how much I didn't care, I tossed my empty can in the trash and walked straight out of there.

* * *

 **Sorry, I was gonna write more but I ran out of time. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. And for anyone who wants to see Helga's party outfit, I posted an illustration on my Deviantart under my user name TurchinoRain. Enter this:** **Party-Helga-594846813 after the deviantart web address and you should see it**


	12. Chapter 12

The soda can made loud snapping sound as my thumb dented the aluminum. But I wasn't jealous or anything. As a matter of fact, to prove how much I didn't care, I tossed my empty can in the trash and walked straight out of there. The band had just finished setting up and were playing a warm-up song that wasn't half bad. The fast paced, hard hitting beats suited my growing bad mood.

"Helga G. Pataki? Is that really you?"

I groaned and briefly shut my eyes. When I opened them again, Harold, Stinky, and Sid were staring at me like I had a second head or something. I curled my lips into a snarl. "Take a picture it'll last longer losers."

"See I told you that was her!" Sid exclaimed in shock.

"Wilikers Helga, you look completely different. I almost didn't recognize you." Stinky ogled me up and down. "This new look is downright pretty on you."

"You almost look like a girl." Harold snickered. "If I wasn't already dating Patty-"

"You'd still be the fat slob you are." I chuckled and the other two knuckleheads started laughing too.

"Hey," A hand brushed my elbow and suddenly Arnold stepped up next to me. I rose an eyebrow in surprise and glanced at a clock on the wall. It had only been like three minutes since I left him, what the heck was he doing out here already? "You disappeared on me. Again." He continued with a tight smile. "You're starting to make me think you don't want to be at this party with me."

I frowned in confusion. Maybe it was just me, but I could have sworn that there was an annoyed tone to his voice. "Well excuse me Arnoldo for trying to give you plenty of time to get that bimbo's phone number."

"Another girl is hitting on Arnold?" Sid whined. "Maybe I should move to the jungle for a couple of years and then maybe the girls will come flocking to me."

"Or you'd get eaten by a snake," I mumbled under my breath. "Come to think of it, though, that isn't too far from Arnold's situation."

We all started laughing with the exception of Arnold who was looking more and more irritated. He probably didn't appreciate me calling his little fan girls snakes.

"Can I talk to you, Helga?" He huffed. "Alone?"

My stomached tightened but I rolled my eyes like I didn't care. "Sure football, whatever floats your boat."

I followed him away from the guys, suddenly feeling clumsy and heavy in this stupid high heels. Arnold's hands were fisted in his pocket and irritation was rolling off him in waves. It was like we were twelve again. He picked a spot in the corner where the mini bar stood away from most of the party. I hopped onto one of the stools and waited for him to start talking, or pseudo breaks up with me or whatever. But Arnold just stood staring at me with an annoyed and frustrated look on his face as if he was trying to read my mind but just couldn't. Finally, he sighed and dropped his hands.

"Why do you always do this, Helga? I feel like we're back in fifth grade again." He sounded more tired than irritated, bringing back, even more, memories. It made me bristle with deeply remembered embarrassment. "I don't know what you're talking-"

"Yes, you do Helga," He interrupted with the irritation quickly coming back, "You've always been like this. Every time I so much as talk to another girl you get all upset and leave me with them. Meanwhile, you're over here surrounded by three guys-"

"Are you blind football head!? We've known those three chuckleheads since pre-k!"

"And Danielle sat behind me in Math all through fifth grade! I would have introduced you, but you walked away before I had a chance to!"

My entire body sagged as the resentment quickly drained out of me along with my righteous indignation. Well, I felt stupid, but of course, I wasn't going to let him know that. "Well… maybe I just didn't want to get in the way of you finding true love or a really good hookup at this party. Besides," I hesitated but decided to say it out loud, "it's not like we're dating anymore."

My eyes darted to his and I found him staring at me with an unreadable expression on his face. But judging on how dark his irises were, I could guess he was feeling it pretty strongly. He took a step towards me and I shrunk back against the bar needing to feel something solid to combat the fleeting feeling in my stomach. I wasn't afraid of him hitting me, but afraid of what he was thinking, of what he might say. Part of me wanted to run before he could say anything, but his smoldering eyes held me as he slowly closed the distance and boxed me in against the bar. I forced myself to glare at him as I braced myself for whatever he was going to say.

"Hey kiddies, enjoying the party?" Jacob, my jerk-faced angel, came up to us with that stupid smile on his face. I was torn between punching him in the face and thanking him for interrupting yet another awkward moment between me and my ex-boyfriend.

Arnold though looked much less than grateful. He stared at me for another minute before glancing at him. "Actually Jacob, can you not be here right now? Helga and I are sort of in the middle of something."

Jacob looked at me and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if I needed any help. I could only give him a half shrug. What was I supposed to say? That Arnold and I needed some privacy so he could tell me how much of a witch I'm being? But Jacob nodded in understanding and turned back to Arnold.

"I don't know, looks to me like you two fighting. And you can't enjoy a party when you're fighting." Jacob grinned and hopped behind the bar. "And I believe I have just the cure for you two party bummers."

Arnold made a noise of irritation and sat down on one of the stools next to me. He kept giving me this look of annoyance like it was my fault Jacob a tendency to follow me like a lost puppy.

"Alright kiddies," Jacob produced a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. "Time to take your party medicine."

"Helga doesn't drink," Arnold said automatically.

"How do you know, bucko?" I snarled. "If a wuss like you can take it then so can I."

Jacob smiled proudly. "That's my hell girl. Bottoms up!"

He poured out two shots and I quickly downed mine, hoping not to taste it. Wrong. As soon as it hit the back of my mouth, my throat closed up and the hairs in my nose burned. I started coughing and hacking even as a warm feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

"Told you so." Arnold downed his more easily than I did. "Now, can we get back to talking, Helga?"

"No!" I rasped out. "Pour me another, Jacob!"

Jacob laughed and happily obliged. This time, the shot burned, but it wasn't as bad this time.

"Helga this isn't a good idea," Arnold said before downing his own shot. "This stuff is strong and we're both underage remember?"

"What are you? An expert now?" Shot number three and I could start to taste the lime flavor.

Arnold rolled his eyes but drunk another shot. "Ugh, I swear you are way too stubborn sometimes!"

"And you're a total oblivious, narcissus." Shot number four and my spine was starting to tingle. "Don't act like you don't love having all those girls around you."

"This is exactly what I'm talking about! You are literally getting mad over nothing Helga! Nothing!" He slammed back his fourth one a little angrily.

"So that's it? I'm the crazy one huh? I always am!" Shot number five didn't burn at all and the warm feeling inside me was spreading.

"Yes, you're crazy and you drive me crazy!" Arnold looked blurry around the edges as he gripped his shot but didn't drink it. "And no matter how much try, I just can't seem to understand you!"

Shot number six made the room spin and Jacob barely had time to pour me shot number seven before I downed that one too. "Haven't you been listening Arnoldo? You can't understand me because you're lost in that stupid football shaped head of yours!"

"Better than lost than completely blind hammerhead!"

"What did you call me!?" I made a lunge at him with old Betsy, but I overswung and nearly fell off the stool. Arnold barely managed to catch me and wobbled on his own stool.

"I think maybe the tequila was too strong after all." Jacob chuckled. "I think I should take hell girl home."

"No, I'll do it." Arnold grumbled and stood up, trying to support the both of us. "I got a limo that can take us and besides," He paused to give me another blazing look. "I need to make some things clear to Helga."

"Same goes for me," I pushed myself out of Arnold's grip and waited for the floor to stop moving under this stupid heels. "I got a few things to say to you bucko!"

* * *

I gave Arnold a hearty shove against his stupid firm, broad chest so his back hit the doorframe. My lips crashed into his a moment later. He grunted in a mixture of pain and pleasure and eagerly returned the kiss in full. Leaving the party and the limo ride back to my place was a complete blur to me. The only thing I was aware of was Arnold pulling me inside the house and kicking the door shut, before pinning me to the door in his place and pressed his entire body into mine. I moaned as I felt every muscle and brought his face back to mine. Our lips reconnected with a passionate fury. Arnold's hands roamed over my body, feeling up every inch and occasionally running through my hair. He forced his tongue into my mouth and I could taste the tequila on his breath. Or maybe he was tasting mine, I don't know. The only thing I was aware of was how much I didn't want this to end.

"You're room, now." Arnold panted, briefly separating his lips from mine.

I looked into his eyes. They were dark and burning with lust and passion. I nodded feeling my own burning hot desire and lead him to the stairs. We barely managed to make it five steps before we started pawing at each other again. Arnold stuck his hands inside my jacket and practically yanked it off. I tore off his outer shirt and left that on the stairs as well. The heels came next, followed by his shoes. We left a trail of clothes as we kissed and caressed our way to my room and fumbled our way inside.

Once again I found myself pinned against the door with Arnold's hard toned body pressing against mine. His mouth immediately went to my bared shoulders and trailed hot kisses up my neck.

"Arnold," I heard myself give a breathy moan. "Oh, Arnold, my love."

His head came up and for a moment, I was terrified that I had made a terrible mistake but then the fire in his eyes intensified. Arnold's mouth came crashing down onto mine again and his hand slipped up my shirt to roughly grab my breast.

"Mmmph!" My body shuddered with pleasure as I felt electricity run through my body. My hands went up his shirt and I ran my palms flat over his chest, abs and shoulders. A moan resonated deep within his chest. Arnold separated from me for only a second in order to peel it off so I could resume feeling him up. One of his hands went back up my shirt to my breast while the other hand slipped up my skirt and gripped my thigh. He hoisted it up to wrap around his waist and ground into me.

"Ah! Arnold… ooh," Another breathy moan escaped as my back arched. Suddenly, both of my feet were lifted off the ground and I was aware of Arnold carrying me to the bed. The mattress squeaked as we fell back against it. Arnold grabbed the hem of my top and yanked it over and off my head leaving my bra the only thing covering my chest. I didn't have time to be embarrassed or self-conscious though before Arnold ducked his head down and ran his moist lips between the valley of my breasts and down my stomach.

"You taste so good." He whispered, coming back to kiss my lips again. "So sweet."

"We both know that isn't true." My words sounded slurred even to my own ears but I chose to ignore it. Instead, I chose to focus on Arnold's belt buckle with was just within reach between my legs. I fumbled to reach it as Arnold began kissing my neck again.

"I'll show you," he whispered moving up to lick and nip my ear lobe, "I'll show you just how sweet you can be."

"Yeah, yeah, football head," I gave up on the belt and started kissing his shoulder instead. "Now do me a favor and get rid of your belt before I rip your pants off."

Arnold laughed and sat back on his knees. He slowly and deliberately starting loosening his belt, wearing a teasing and bleary smile. I gave an impatient whine and playfully nudged him with my knee. "Hurry up, football head!"

He laughed, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard, and took off his belt. "Whatever you say, Helga."

* * *

An annoying, persistent buzzing sound broke through my dark haze and into too bright reality. The sun stabbed directly through my clenched eyelids and wouldn't let up.

"Ugh… go away sun!" I tried to pull the covers over my head but for some reason, it wouldn't budge. The throbbing in my skull increased as I struggled to open one eye. Something felt off but I just couldn't figure out what. I burrowed a little into my blankets and that's when I noticed that I was almost nearly naked. I risked a peek under the blankets and saw that the only thing covering my body were my panties.

 _Okay, okay, this isn't too bad._ I tried to remain calm. _I've slept naked before, doesn't mean anything. No need to panic._

But then there was a sleepy groan from directly next to me and an arm flopped into my waist. I risked a glance behind me and saw none other than Arnold, my _ex-_ boyfriend, emphasis on the _ex,_ sleeping next to me. And from what I could see, he was wearing just as much as I was.

 _Okay, now it's time to panic._

* * *

 **Just so you guys know, this isn't even close to being over yet ;)**


	13. Chapter 13

_Helga had never felt more nervous in her entire life. Not during FTi, not during their trip to San Lorenzo, and not even her first recital scared her as much as this moment._

 _She and Arnold were completely alone in his bedroom._

 _Okay, so she had been in his bedroom before, but without his knowledge and without being his girlfriend. Right now they were sitting together on his couch, watching a movie on his 20 inch tv. It had been a good couple of weeks for them, five whole weeks without a single fight. So in order to celebrate, Arnold had invited her over for a romantic movie night in._

 _"Are you comfortable?" Arnold whispered. "You're all tensed up like you're cold or something."_

 _"Huh?" Helga glanced down and realized that her shoulders were in fact hunched up and she had her arms folded tightly across her chest. She quickly uncrossed them and tried to relax. "Um yeah, I guess it's a little chilly in here. But don't worry, it's cool."_

 _Arnold chuckled at her unintentional pun, making her smile proudly at herself. Any time she made Arnold laugh it felt like her own personal achievement. She could stay warm from his laughter for days. But soon his chuckles quieted down and he just stared at her. His beautiful green eyes were warm with affection and she felt her heart skip a beat or two._

 _"Here, maybe this will help." Arnold pulled a wool blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over the both of them, pulling her closer in the same move. "Is this better?"_

 _Helga could only nod her head vigorously. His body felt so, so warm against her and whatever body wash or cologne he was wearing smelled heavenly. A small happy sigh escaped her lips as she snuggled against his shoulder. Arnold hummed happily in response and kissed the top of her head. This was it, this was the best moment of Helga's thirteen-year-old life._

 _"I love you." The words slipped from her mouth before she could stop them._

 _Arnold stiffened and turned to look at her, completely wide-eyed. Helga felt the color drain from her face. Oh no, she hadn't told him that she loved him since the jungle. What if it was too soon? What if those words were heavier now? But then Arnold smiled his bland, oblivious smile._

 _"I'm sorry Helga what did you say? I didn't catch that." It was obvious he was lying but he was giving her a chance not to embarrass herself. Helga relaxed a little even though she felt disappointed. "I said I love… this. I love being with you."_

 _Arnold continued to smile at her softly for a long moment before speaking again. "I…love this too."_

 _The movie was suddenly forgotten as they stared into each other's eyes. The flicker glow from the television made Arnold's eyes shimmer in a way that made Helga catch her breath. The arm around her shoulders tightened. Arnold's eyes became half-lidded and he slowly started to lean forward. Helga felt the slightest puff of breath from his lips before they closed over hers and her eyes slid shut. They snapped open again when she felt his tongue prod at her lips. Helga's heartbeat tripled and she kept her lips sealed. She had no idea what to do. The only other times they had kissed were light pecks on the lips, cheeks, or hands. But underneath the fear, a tingle of excitement was also rippling through her. It was Arnold who was making the next move right now. Arnold willing to push things further. Helga decided that it was also time for her to make a move and cupped his cheek before softly running her fingertips down his neck. A tiny moan slipped from Arnold and he suddenly pulled away._

 _"S-sorry," He stammered out, blushing brightly even in the dark room. "I, um…I…"_

 _"It's fine," Helga said quietly. She stared down at her hands and could feel her cheeks heating up. "It was…nice."_

 _There didn't seem to be anything else to say. After a while, Arnold tugged Helga close to him again. She cuddled into his side and they finished watching the rest of the movie together._

* * *

It was all a dream. Of course, it had all been a dream. Because if it wasn't a dream, then it really was Arnold laying almost naked next to me. And if Arnold was really the one laying almost naked next to me, then that meant last night we-

 _Bzzzz. Bzzzz. Bzzzz._ My phone began insistently buzzing again, bringing to the forefront my pounding headache. I cracked an eye open and was once again stabbed by the morning sunlight. My joints were also stiff and sore, and my stomach was beginning to rebel too.

 _Bzzzzz! Bzzzz! Bzzzz!_ Again that blasted phone began buzzing and I was seriously considering chucking it against the wall when there was another sleepy groan next to me. The person (whom I refused to acknowledge as Arnold because this was just a dream) pulled me closer and his breath tickled my ear.

"Morning," A voice that was distinctly Arnold's whispered, "Shouldn't you be getting that?"

I kept my eyes clenched shut and didn't answer. For a drunken hallucination, I had to admit that this was a pretty good one. I felt close to death from the hangover and yet I could still feel the heat from his body wrapping around my thin frame. His scent was even as intoxicating as I remembered it being. But like I said, it was a good hallucination.

Suddenly, cool, soft lips pressed against the back of my neck and I was snapped into reality. I would know those kisses anywhere. They sent those unforgettable shivers down my spine. My neck was stiff as I turned my head and finally took a second glance beside me. Arnold's bright green eyes looked sleepily back at me and he gave me a soft smile. "Hey, Helga."

My stomach lurched and refused to hold in anything any longer. I leaped out of the bed and ran for the bathroom, not even having time to find something to cover my still naked chest. I barely managed to get the toilet seat up before I started vomiting. Needless to say, it tasted a lot worse going out than it had going in. But there was nothing I could do except hold my hair back the best I could and let it all out.

"Uggh," I groaned once the vomiting subsided. My stomach was still churning though so I knew I wasn't quite done yet. "This is so disgusting. No wonder why Miriam hides her booze in smoothies."

"You know, mixing it with a smoothie may have helped your mom prevent hangovers," Arnold smiled as he come into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He now had on his jeans and t-shirt and was carrying my cotton robe.

I yelped, suddenly remembering that I was completely topless, and my stomach heaved again. I was struggling to both hold back my hair and cover my freely hanging boobs when I heard Arnold give a soft laugh and he draped my robe over my back.

I angrily yanked my arms through the sleeves, closed it, and scowled at him. "I'm glad you find this amusing football- _hurk-"_

As I continued to vomit, Arnold moved behind me and gently held my hair back for me. I didn't have the strength to fight him off and besides, it was sorta nice to feel his hands gently yet firmly pulling my hair back.

"I non't need your hnelp." I slurred miserably, stubborn to the end.

"Shhh. Stop trying to fight me, Helga. Just let me help you."

His voice was low and soft, but there was still a hint of annoyance in his tone. When I was sure my rounds of vomiting were done, I impatiently nudged Arnold away from me and sat down heavily on the cold tile floor. The cold bathtub felt good against my back, my body felt hot and the room was swaying a little. Arnold sat down next to me. His cornflower blond hair was sticking up everywhere and he had dark circles under his eyes but he still looked infinitely better than I felt. I self-consciously closed my robe tighter around myself.

"How come you ain't praying to the porcelain god too?" I asked irritably.

"I'm not the one who drank seven straight tequila shots, Helga." His tone was mildly chastising which made me all the more irritable.

"I can handle myself you know." I would have added in an insult for good measure but my pounding head didn't allow it. I closed my eyes with a painful grunt and silently prayed for death to put me out of my misery. Arnold put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Want me to get you some water?" He asked softly. "It'll help you get over your hangover faster."

"Did we have sex last night?" There, it was out. The question that had been nagging me ever since I realized our state of undress. I told myself that I would be able to handle whatever answer he gave me. If the answer was no then that would be a major relief. And if it was a yes well, we were both adults and could move on with our lives after a drunken one night stand right? Right?

My blood ran cold when I realized he hadn't answered. I risked a glance at him and was shocked to see that he looked downright angry.

"Are you seriously asking me that? Really?" He was frowning and his eyes were serious. "Helga… I wasn't that drunk."

Hot blinding tears rushed to my eyes before I could stop them. Stumbling to my feet, I ran out of the bathroom as the tears fell from my eyes.

"Helga wait!" Arnold called after me, but I ignored him. I didn't want to hear his pity. I didn't want to hear him tell me that somewhere there was a guy who would be honored to have a drunken one night stand with me. I slammed my bedroom door shut and fell onto my bed, letting the tears fall freely. The pain in my heart and my pride now match the pain I was feeling all over my body and in my brain.

 _Why am I not surprised? It would take a lot more than tequila to get Arnold to sleep with me. It would probably take a whole case load to get him to think of me that way._

There was a soft knocking on the door, "Helga?"

"Get out!" I shrieked, not caring if Olga would hear me or not. "Get the hell out of here Arnold!"

There was a small moment of silence before I heard the door close again. Another sob escaped from my lips and I buried my face into the pillows to muffle the sound. That was that then. Arnold was gone and there was little chance that I would ever see him again. I told myself that I could handle whatever answer he gave me but I wasn't prepared for him to say something so cruel. And then I made the even bigger mistake of showing him how much it hurt. If history proves correct, Arnold will give me the wayward pitying glance, maybe a kind word or two, and then forget about me altogether.

But then a door opened again and I could practically feel his presence as he strode into my bedroom.

"Didn't I tell you to go away?" I mumbled angrily. My throat was sore and my tongue felt thick. "I thought you'd be on your way to Gerald's by now to discuss how much of a twisted person I am."

"Normally yes." The bed sank as he sat on the edge of my bed. "But I changed my mind. I'm tired of running away from you every time you get upset at me without having a chance to explain myself."

Another sob choked the back of my throat, but I forced it back down. Instead, I lifted my head up from the pillow to give him a death glare. "The only thing you need to explain is what the hell you're still doing here."

Arnold met my glare with a determined one of his own. "You're unbelievable you know that? You're so determined to stir in your own warped world view that you're too stubborn to listen to anything else besides your own insecurities."

My mouth began to tremble uncontrollably and fresh tears spilled over my cheeks. I wanted to hit him, scream at him, curse him and fling him out of the window. But then Arnold's eyes softened and he gently laid his fingertips against my wet cheeks.

"Don't touch me." My voice came out a weak whimper. "You aren't drunk enough remember?"

A look of surprise then mild annoyance came over Arnold's features. "I knew it. I knew you would find some way to twist my words around. This is exactly what I'm talking about."

A flash of blinding rage went through me and I tried to slap that stupid face of his. But Arnold grabbed my wrist before I could make contact and swung it down next to me to that I was now lying on my back with him hovering over me.

"Ugggggh, Arnooold." I groaned as the sudden movement made both my head and stomach spin dangerously.

"Sorry," He said with little actual remorse, but his eyes were soft, "But I just really need you to hear me out, Helga."

I closed my eyes to fight the alternating waves of nausea in my stomach and the pounding in my head. And to avoid looking into those endless pools of green. "Only if you promise to kill me afterward."

He gave out a soft chuckle and I jumped when I felt his cool dry lips press a gentle kiss on my forehead. _Okay, now I'm definitely hallucinating._ But it felt so good that I couldn't help the tiny sigh that escaped from my lips.

"Now will you let me explain?" Arnold asked softly. "Now I know I let things get sorta out of hand last night. But you have to know that I respect you way too much to take advantage of you for some drunken one night stand."

 _Of freakin' course he would say that. That's such an Arnold thing to say._ I wanted to be annoyed at his constant chivalrous nature but the smallest twitch at the corner of my lips betrayed my true feelings. Arnold gave a tiny breath of relief which I felt against my own lips.

"So am I forgiven?" He asked hopefully.

I opened my mouth to answer but all that came out was a pained grunt. There was now a river dancing team wreaking havoc in my skull.

"You know what you need?" Arnold moved from above me and sat next to me instead. "Some breakfast. I know I could."

I cracked an eye open to look at him. Arnold sat with his back to me stretching his arms over his head. Any other time I would have been drooling over the way his shoulders and arms looked in the morning sunlight. But right now I was just focusing on not throwing up over the both of us. "Don't bother, I'll just throw it up again."

"You need it," Arnold said firmly. "It'll help ease your hangover, I promise."

"Shove it, _Short_ man."

Arnold merely laughed off my insult and stood up. "I shouldn't be long than twenty, thirty minutes tops. Try not to die while I'm gone?"

"No promises."

Arnold gave me a warm smile and started to lean in. Another wave of nausea began to creep up but I forced myself to keep watching him. But something must have shown on my face because he pulled away and brushed some of the hair out of my face instead. He stood up with a yawn. "I'll be back. You'll wait for me right?"

Wait for him? He had no idea that one little question meant a hundred different things.

"I'll be right here football head," I grumbled and pulled the covers over my head. "You know where to find me. My house keys are on the floor somewhere."

Once he was gone I reached under the mattress and grabbed the object I had hidden there. The old gold metal now had a dull sheen and was flecked with gray where the gold had worn off. It had taken a beaten over the years, especially when we first broke up, but the clasped still worked. I took a shaky breath then opened it. The picture inside was an updated one from when we first started dating. I sighed and lovingly caressed his face.

"You always do manage to find me, don't you hair boy?"


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N-I keep forgetting to tell you guys how much I appreciate every single review, favorite, and/or follow that I get. They really mean a lot to me and you guys are the absolute best! Thank you so so much.**

* * *

I don't remember when I fell asleep, but when I woke up my mouth felt dry, thick, and disgusting. "Ugh, why didn't I brush my teeth sooner?"

My body still felt like rusty metal as I struggled to climb out of bed. Inside of the bathroom I check myself out in the mirror. My hair looked like it had been through a wind tunnel and there were heavy bags under my blood shot eyes. "I'm going to kill Jake. I look like hell."

When I peered closer though, I could spot several dark red bruises on my neck pecking out from under my robe. Peeling back the opening of my robe a little, I could see that the hickeys ran all the down to a distinctive set of teeth marks on my collarbone.

"Wow, football head," I muttered fingering the bruises, "who knew you had it in you?"

It was a bit of a bitter sweet discovery though. Like he said, he didn't actually mean to let things go that far.

"Oooh, my aching head." I stepped away from the mirror and headed back to my room.

Sitting on my bedside table next to my phone were goodies that I hadn't even noticed where there. A plastic container of fruit, a chocolate chip muffin, a bottle of Gatorade, and a bottle of aspirin. There was also a folded piece of paper under my house keys. A tiny smile lifted my lips as I opened up the note.

 _ **"Sorry, a million times sorry,"**_ It read, _**"I know I asked you to wait for me but by the time I came back you were dead asleep. I would have waited up for you but I forget I promised to help grandpa around the house today. Besides you looked like you could use some rest. But even though I'm not there I still want you to eat that food Helga. I'm not kidding. And drink that Gatorade! I mean it Helga. I'll text you when I can and I'll stop by to check up on you later."**_

He didn't sign it or anything but it still made my heart leap. Not that it was any surprise but it sounded like he genuinely cared for my well-being. I sat down heavily on my bed and picked up the container of fruit. Seeing that there were no strawberries in it I picked up a piece of cantaloupe and cautiously popped it in my mouth. My stomach hiccuped and I was afraid I was about to throw it up again, but my stomach settled when I swallowed it.

"Hmm, I could get used to Arnold fetching my food." I lounged onto my bed and picked up the muffin next. "Now let's see who was blowing up my phone."

I nearly chocked on my muffin when I saw that work called me three times. Crap! I totally forgot I had an early morning shift! I glanced at the clock and was horrified to see that it was well into the afternoon.

"Whelp, there goes that job." I grumbled. "Dang it, and it paid decent too."

I was debating how I was going to grovel for my job while I checked my other messages. Three texts from Jacob, and two texts and a voicemail from Phoebe. I started with Jacob's texts.

 **Jacob: Hey, big boss called me looking for you. Did you forget you had work today? Or did you spend the night in jail after pounding that kid? XD XD**

 **Jacob: You owe me one Pataki. I'm covering for you and told big boss that you're sick on your "womanly time"**

 **Jacob: Seriously tho Helga, you owe me big ;) ;) ;)**

I cringed. Great, the last thing I needed was to be in that jerk's debt. But on the bright side at least I didn't have to look for another job. I texted him a quick thank you and moved on to Phoebe's messages. The text message just said to call her as soon as I could so I moved on and played the voicemail she left.

 **"Helga! It is imperative that you pick up immediately. I saw you and Arnold fighting earlier and I'm concerned over the amount of alcohol you two consumed. Please don't do anything you'll regret in the morning. You two can still be friends but that'll will be infinitely more difficult if you physically harm him!"**

I checked at her concerned and anxious tone. Man, how had Arnold and I left the party last night? Even Jacob joked about me spending the night in jail for beating him up. My head was starting to feel a little better so I finished off the muffin and washed it down with the Gatorade. Nasty combination, but I had to admit, Arnold was right about it helping my hangover. But the new found clarity made me realize just how icky I felt.

"Ugh, someone needs a shower." I muttered to myself.

Since I now officially had the day off I decided that I might as well take a nice long one and pamper myself a little. The hot water did miraculous things for my body and practically erased the rustiness in my joints and limbs. As a matter of fact, I was feeling down right giddy about how everything went. At the very least Arnold cared about me. Either as a good friend or a potential lover only time would tell, but for the moment I was just basking in the warm feeling he left behind. I turned off the shower once it started to get cold and wrapped myself in a towel. As I started to get dressed in some comfortable work out gear, I shot a quick text to Arnold.

 **Me: Got your note. You couldn't get me a breakfast sandwich tho? :P**

Next, I dialed Phoebe's number and of course she answered on the second ring.

"Oh my gosh Helga, I'd thought you'd never call!" She practically shouted in my ear. "Are you okay? Tell me what happened immediately!"

"Chill Pheebs I'm fine. I little hungover, but other than that completely fine."

"Oh what a relief," she sighed, "From the way you and Arnold left the party last night, Gerald and I were worried that you two got into another one of your infamous fights."

"Right about that…" I bit my lip and fingered one of the bruises on my neck. "How _exactly_ did Arnold and I leave last night? Everything is kind of a blur to me."

"You two looked like you were having a rather heated argument and then the next thing I knew he was dragging you out rather roughly. I wanted to stop him but Gerald said that I shouldn't interfere."

"Well um, actually Pheebs…" I struggled to hold back a giggle. "Arnold and I kinda ended up in bed last night."

There was complete silence on her end and I imagined her jaw dropping to the floor. I waited patiently for her next words with a small smug smile.

"Helga! That was a completely foolish thing to do! How could you let yourself get caught up in the heat of the moment like that?"

My small smug smile dropped and I looked at the phone in surprise. Well that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I opened my mouth to say something, but Phoebe wasn't done chewing me out yet.

"Sex is a really big step for anyone to take and it's a very serious matter. Especially with Arnold. _Especially_ considering your complicated relationship with Arnold."

I sighed. "Phoebe…"

"And under the influence of alcohol? Your judgement is already impaired when you're around him!"

"Phoebe!" I cut in more loudly. "We didn't actually have sex, okay?"

"And don't get me started on your already fragile emotional state lately." There was a brief pause as she took in my last statement. "Wait, you didn't have sex last night? But I thought you said-"

"We did but turns out he was a little more sober than I was so things didn't go all the way." I held back a sigh of mild disappointment. "But we did have a pretty heavy make out session last night. And he was practically cuddling and coddling me this morning, Pheebs. He even brought me breakfast."

"You sound very happy, so I suppose I'm happy for you too." Phoebe sweetly. "So what exactly did Arnold say to confirm his feelings for you?"

"Uh…" A lump of embarrassment rose in my throat and I heard Phoebe sigh. "Helga…

"We're playing it by ear okay?" I blurted out angrily. _Yeah because I'm too much of a coward to tell Arnold how I'm feeling._

"Helga, I hope you realize that you're playing a game neither of you will win."

I hung up on her and shoved the phone into my pocket. "Yeah, I know."

Next I hunted around for my iPod so I could work out some of my turbulent emotions in a good old fashioned run. Once I made my way outside of the house, I took a deep breath of that early summer air and began running. It may not have been the smartest thing to do after a hangover but I loved the way my feet pounded on the pavement. My toned legs carried me through the streets of Hillwood with speed. My lungs throbbed in my rib cage with my controlled breathing. There was a steady pounding in my temple but I ignored it. It felt so good to run that I honestly never wanted to stop.

But eventually even the great Helga G. Pataki had to take a break so I ran into the park to find a nice shady spot to rest. I flopped down on one of the benches and fished my phone out of my pocket to see if I had any messages. The name attached to the first text made my heart beat double.

 **Arnold: Oh yeah? See what happens next time you get a hangover p**

 **Arnold: So are you feeling better?**

I smiled and texted back a reply. **Oodles. I missed work but Jacob's covering for me. I'm out for a run now.**

I started to put the phone away expecting him not to text back for a while so I was genuinely surprised when my phone vibrated again and I saw his name.

 **Arnold: Well that was nice of him, glad you're off the hook.**

 **Ha! Nice?** I scoffed out loud as I texted. **Yeah right, he says I have to pay him back. The dude's a pain but it beats working.**

His next text didn't even come thirty seconds later. **He expects you to pay him back? How?**

 **Hell if I know, but I shudder at the possibilities.** Honestly, I was partly joking. As much as I talked crap about Jacob, he probably wouldn't make me do worse than watch a stupid movie with him or fetch him fast food when he was too lazy to do it himself. But obviously Arnold didn't catch the joke because his next text was practically dripping with his football headed concern for everyone's well-being.

 **Arnold: I don't like how that sounds. Do you want me to talk to him for you?**

I make a rude noise with my mouth, causing a few joggers to give me weird looks. Sometimes my darling's overly protective nature was downright overbearing and ridiculous. It was probably Jacob's armful of tattoos that had Arnold acting like an overly protective older brother. Gerald sometimes acted the same way when Jacob was around Phoebe, but that was totally different right? In either case, I texted Arnold back a reply to ease his unfounded worries.

 **Relax football head,** I texted, **It's probably no big deal, but I'll find out tomorrow and let you know all about it, okay?**

He didn't text me back right away and I was starting to get antsy again so I put the phone on silent and got back to my run.

* * *

It wasn't until we took our lunch together that I found out what Jacob wanted from me. He had been quieter than usual and bristling with irritation during our shift but I didn't have time to ask him about it since we had got flooded with customers. By the time two o'clock rolled around, Jacob grabbed my arm in a vice grip and practically dragged me out the back door.

"Ow! Geez, what's with you?" I scowled at him as soon as we reached the alley.

Jacob shot me an irritated look, but didn't answer until he took out a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply. As soon as he exhaled the first billow of smoke, his features finally relaxed and the irritated look left his eyes.

"Oh bloody hell, I've been dying for one of these all day." He sighed, his carefully hidden British accent slipping out. I snickered and he shot me a mock scowl, hiding his accent at once. "Shut up, Pataki."

"So what's got you riled up?" I asked taking a swig of my Monster energy drink. "And you might as well spit out what favor you want me to do for you."

Jacob took my can and took a sip before handing it back to me. "What else? My father."

I smiled and took on a phony British accent. "Oh yes, dear old Jeremiah Dolton. How is that ol' bloke doing?"

Jacob blew a puff of smoke in my face making me cough and sputter. His laugh was quickly cut short though by a quick ol' Betsy to the side.

"Ow!" Jacob yelped and rubbed his side. "Jeremiah is trying to drag me down to his South Carolina beach house for a week. Geezer thinks he can bound with me or something."

"Oh how absolutely horrible!" My voice dripped with unveiled sarcasm. "You poor thing, how dare he drag you on vacation?"

"I'm serious Helga," Jacob whined uncharacteristically. "You know that my old man and I don't get along. He's just doing this so I'll come back to the family business."

I couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards him. Sure big Bob and I didn't always get along the best, but at least there was no denying that I was his daughter. Jacob and his father were as different as night and day.

I put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe you'll meet some girls or you can convince your pops to let some of your friends come along."

At once his miserable pout transformed into a mischievous toothy grin. "Exactly! That's where you come in Pataki."

I frowned in confusion. "Come again?"

"That favor you owe me?" Jacob's grin grew. "That's exactly how you're going to pay it, Jeremiah already said that I can bring as many friends as I want and you, Miss Pataki, are one of them."

My frown deepened. "Um… no? Sorry Jakey-boy but family vacations aren't my thing."

Jacob stepped closer to me, forcing me to crane my head up to look at him. He smirked, knowing how much I hated to be reminded that he was taller than me. "Too bad Pataki, I covered your shift yesterday after you were too hungover, from underage drinking of course, to make it to work. I said you owed me and this is how you repay me. Hell, I'll even let you invite as many as your friends as you want."

My refusal died on my lips as the suggestion brought forth something to my mind. An image of Arnold, so toned and tanned from his years in the jungle, dressed in nothing but form fitting swim trunks danced before my eyes. The sun would darken his cornflower blonde locks and the water from the beach would roll down his taunt muscles. The vivid daydream was made all the more real by the remnants of what I remembered from our drunken make-out session two nights ago and my knees almost went weak.

A goofy smile spread across my face before I could stop it. "Jacob, I think you have yourself a deal."


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N- So sorry for the lack in updates, I had a cold that turned into a full blown fever and this is my second day back in the land of the living. I hope you guys like this chapter, I'm working to get back on track with things.**

* * *

The warm summer air felt better than good as Jacob's beat up Lexus zoomed through the streets. How can someone beat up a Lexus you might ask? Hell if I know but, of course, Mr. Rebellion would find a way to. But all of that was irrelevant right now. The window on the passenger side was rolled down all the way so the wind whipped my hair back as I leaned out of it, watching the scenery zoom by. Jacob had opted to take the scenic route from the airport so all I saw was white sandy beach stretching out next to a too blue ocean. I was totally ready for the beach. I already had on a new pair of jean shorts and a pink spaghetti strapped crop top. My sunglasses were perched on top of my head to keep my bangs out of my eyes. But the best part was, if I moved my head just a little to the left and tucked some of my hair behind my ear, I could see Arnold sitting directly behind me in the reflection of the side mirror. Most of the time he was staring at the water with an absent-minded smile on his face, but there were more than a handful of times when I caught him looking at me. He didn't look away immediately when I caught him, his smile just grew a little and he resumed looking at the ocean. The three heart-pounding days when he couldn't decide if he was going or not was completely forgotten.

Oh, and Phoebe and Gerald were in the backseat too. What? My mind isn't 100% on Arnold all the time. Phoebe was my best friend, of course, I was going to take her on vacation with me.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, would you take a look at that beautiful water?" Gerald said. "Man, I can't wait to go swimming!"

Phoebe winced and had to shade her eyes as she looked over at the ocean. "I hope I packed enough sunscreen. I get so terribly burned when exposed to too much sunlight."

"Ugh, same here." I groaned. "Me and Bob are both prone to horrible sunburns. I always pack a mini case load just in case."

Arnold chuckled behind me. "Remember that one summer our families spent together Helga? Your dad got so sunburned that he couldn't even get out of bed."

"Yeah I remember." What I remembered more though was the time we spent together building sand castles and of course, our Baywatch kiss. "I think that was one of the best summers I ever had." I said honestly. Once again my eyes met his in the side mirror. The corner of his mouth lifted and I wondered if he was thinking of the same thing.

Jacob gave me a quick hit to stomach to get my attention. "Hey!"

"Ow! What?" I scowled.

He grinned and pointed ahead. "We're here!"

I huffed and looked in the direction he was pointing. Ahead of us, the dunes were beginning to give way to green grass and in the middle of a couple of palm trees sat a beautiful blue and white beach house. A few brief lines of poetry came to mind but my thoughts were quickly drowned out by Gerald and Arnold's excited hollering. Jacob pulled up to the driveway but before he could fully put the car in park they were already jumping out and running to the house. Phoebe giggled while I rolled my eyes.

"Geez, you'd think these losers have never been to a beach house before." I chuckled.

"Well, this is pretty large and rather ornate beach house," Phoebe said judicially. "It quite beautiful Jake."

"Yeah, making all the leather shoes in England does a lot for your bank account," Jacob mumbled and placed a cigarette in his mouth.

I rolled my eyes at his blasé tone. "Come on, Pheebs. Let's leave Mr. Mopey to brood by himself and smoke his lungs out."

"Coming!" She echoed cheerily.

We stepped out of the car and began stretching out the kinks in our joints after being cooped up in a car and a plane for so long.

"Babe!" Gerald ran over to Phoebe and scooped her up in his arms. "Ain't this place the bomb!?"

"It sure beats where we vacationed." Arnold chuckled.

Gerald frowned when he noticed that Jacob was still sitting in the car smoking. "Hey, man! We going inside sometime today or what?"

"Pops has the key. We're waiting for him." Jacob made a shooing motion with his hand. "Why don't you go play or something?"

Gerald frowned and raised an eyebrow at me. "He knows he's not _that_ much older than us right?"

I raised my shoulders and made a non-committal noise in response. Who did he think I was, Jacob's handler?

"Whatever," Gerald resumed his laid back expression, "I ain't gonna let him ruin my free vacation. Come on little mamma, let's go for a walk."

Phoebe giggled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and they walked off like the two love birds they were. Leaving of course just me and Arnold. My goal of scoring some alone time with my golden haired Adonis was happening much sooner than I had anticipated. Already my palms were starting to sweat.

"Hey," Arnold jogged my elbow with a wide, goofy grin on his face, "wanna race down the beach?"

"Race?" At that magic word, the nervousness immediately vanished. My lips curled into a smirk. "You sure you wanna do challenge me football head? I think I might have a _leg-_ up on you on this one."

"Yeah?" Arnold leaned closer for a brief second before breaking into a run, catching me completely off guard. He laughed and glanced at me over his shoulder. "Let's see if your legs can run as fast as your mouth!"

I chuckled and took off my sandals and sunglasses. "Oh, you're so on, football head."

Ignoring the heat of the sand, I started sprinting in order to make up for Arnold's head start. My eyes looked onto that beautiful, odd-shaped head of his as I quickly began to catch up. But just as I was closing the distance Arnold gave me another dazzling smile and doubled his speed. My predatory grin grew. _Well, beating you wouldn't be half as fun if you made it easy geek bait._ I thought, choosing not to waste precious oxygen with verbal taunts. I doubled my speed too and we both easily zoomed past Phoebe and Gerald. My lungs were burning and my heart was pounding, but all that mattered was that I was once again steadily closing the distance between us. _Time to pull out all the stops._ Taking a large breath, I pushed my legs to the max and in a few long strides, I pulled abreast of Arnold.

"How long—do you plan—on keeping – this up?" I panted between breaths. "You're starting to look—pretty—tired."

"Oh—look whose—talking." Arnold gave a breathless laugh. "See those—two palm trees? That's—finish line."

I looked to where he was indicating and saw two scrawny looking palm trees on top of a sand dune. When I turned back to Arnold to confirm, he suddenly gained an extra burst of speed and pulled ahead of me. But his years in the jungle couldn't bet good old fashioned Pataki determination and competitiveness. My knee gave a gangly pop as I stretched my legs out and regained my rightful place ahead of Arnold. Running up the sand dune slowed us both down considerably but my long legs kept me up front.

"Aha!" I gave a triumphant shout when I reached the trees first. "And Helga Pataki takes the gold!"

"Helga, look out!"

Suddenly, Arnold crashed into me from behind, sending us both toppling and screaming down the sand dune. And this wasn't one of those cute, movie topple down the hills. It was all elbows and knees as the sand flew up everywhere. We finally landed in a heap with, of course, me face down in the sand and Arnold heavily sprawled against my back.

"Oof," He groaned rubbing his forehead. "Hehe, my bad Helga. I couldn't stop in time."

"That's great football head," I wheezed, "but could you apologize after you get the heck off of me?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He scrambled from off of me and I was finally able to breathe without his weight crushing the air out of my lungs. "Here, let me help you up."

"No, no, you've done enough geek bait." I spit the sand out of my mouth and rolled over to lay on my back. "Just for the record, though, I totally won that race."

Arnold laughed and laid down next to me. "Yes. Helga G. Pataki is the fastest woman in South Carolina."

"Fastest _period._ " I corrected swiftly. "Unless of course, you're calling yourself a woman."

Arnold turned his head to look at me, a small smirk on his lips. "Sorry, Helga G. Pataki is the fastest being in the universe and we should all be humbled to breathe the same air as her. Is that better?"

"Yes, yes," I sighed, "But that's enough worshiping me for now. I grow bored with your praise."

"Whatever you say, Helga."

I turned my head to look at him and was instantly struck by how close he was to me. For goodness sake, our noses were almost touching! Arnold's smile grew and his green eyes were soft as he stared back at me. I found my own lips curling up in a smile and barely managed to stop a swoon from escaping. Neither of us said anything, we just laid together in the sand, under the bright sunshine smiling at each other. Not like a bully and her old victim, not like two ex-lovers, but just two people who actually enjoy the other's company.

 _BZZZZZZZZ. BZZZZZZZ. BZZZZZZZZZ._ Our beautiful moment was rudely interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I groaned in annoyance and pulled it out of my shorts pocket. But to my surprise, Arnold wrapped his hand around mine, preventing me from answering it. I looked at him in confusion and he gave me the most adorable smile.

"Can we… just lay here for a minute?" He asked bashfully. "I'm not really ready to get back to the others yet."

"Um, s-sure. Okay." I set my phone back down and my heart nearly stopped when Arnold resumed holding my hand. He gave me another smile before looking up at the sky. I was grateful that our race already made us both plenty sweaty so he couldn't tell just sweaty my palms were just by holding his hand. I looked up at the sky too to see wisps of white clouds moving across cerulean blue. Of course, I had seen the sky on a perfect summer day before, but it felt like nothing when I was lying next to Arnold, his thumb absent-mindedly caressing the back of my hand.

 _BZZZZZZ. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZZZ._

 _BZZZZZZZ. BZZZZZ. BZZZZZZZ._

Both of our phones started up within seconds of each other's and we both let out an annoyed groan.

"Maybe if we both don't answer they'll assume we drowned?" I suggested hopefully.

"Helga, that's terrible!" Arnold laughed and checked his caller ID with his free hand. "Ugh, Gerald. What could he possibly need right now of all times?"

"And mine says it's Pheebs." I sighed. "Thinking we should go back now?"

"Yeah. I would hate to worry them." Arnold briefly let go of my hand in order to stand up and then offered me a hand to help me up as well. This time, he didn't let go once I was situated so we remained hand clasped as we started walking back. Turns out we had raced a lot further than I had thought because the beach house was almost hazy. Or maybe that was just the heat.

"Hey um, Helga?" Arnold started, "You think that um, we can do this again sometime?"

"What? You mean race?" I gave him a jaunty wink. "Sure thing football head, whenever you feel like losing to me I'm game."

"No, not that." He playfully bumped against me. "I mean do you think we can spend some time together like that again? Just the two of us?"

My feet went on autopilot as they kept walking but my brain slowed to a crawl. Arnold wanted to spend time with me? As in alone time? Alone time with me!? I wanted to leap with joy, shout to the heavens that my love, my one, and only true love, actually had feelings for me and wanted to spend time with me- Helga Geraldine Pataki, his ex-girlfriend who would love nothing more than to be on a deserted island with him. But I had to play it cool or it might scare him away.

"Helga?"

"Whatever floats your boat dweeb," I said forcing my tone to remain casual. "I mean, we have a whole week together."

"Yeah," Arnold gave me a bright smile. "A whole week of vacation to enjoy."

* * *

We spent the rest of the walk hand clasped and chatting about little things. If I let myself get carried away, I could almost imagine that we were some normal couple. One that had never fought over little stuff or went for days without speaking or broke up once a month. When we came up to the beach house there were two, pristine suvs parked next to Jacob's Lexus. I briefly had to let go of Arnold's hand in order to pick up my sunglasses and sandals. No one else was outside so my guess was that they were all in the house already.

"I guess that means Jake's dad is here." Arnold pointed out.

"As if he wasn't insufferable enough as it is." I laughed. I was debating whether or not I was brave enough to grab Arnold's hand again when the front door open and Jacob practically ran out. "Speak of the devil…"

But instead of Jacob's usually mocking or devil-may-care grin, he looked legitimately panicked as he hurried over to me. "Helga!" he grabbed me by the shoulders, "before you come inside I want you to know I had absolutely nothing to do with this."

"Hey, hey paws off Jacob," I scowled prying his hands off of me. "And what the hell are you going on about?"

But my question was answered for me when the door opened wider revealing the absolute last person I expected to see.

"Arnold!" Rhonda squealed and ran over in her red wedge sandals. "I've been waiting forever for you!"


	16. Chapter 16

Jacob shrank back from my withering glare. "I told you I didn't invite her! Nadine did!"

"Well you know she's practically Rhonda's henchwoman. What makes you think she wouldn't invite her to tag along?"

"I figured I'd be enough Lloyd repellent!"

"Whatever." I growled and turned my attention back to the princess and Arnold. She was practically strangling him as she babbled about how long the plane ride was or whatever. Arnold's smile was relatively polite as he tried to untangle himself from her grip, but he shot me an imploring look to save him. But just as I started to go over, Jacob suddenly scooped me up bridal style.

"Ah! Jacob! What the hell are you doing!?" I shrieked.

"Preventing you from starting a fight." He said simply, carrying me into the house. "Besides, with your ex distracting my ex, that's one less headache I have to worry about."

We got inside the beach house and I noticed two things at once. First, all of our luggage was piled in the living room. Nadine shot me an apologetic look as she hefted her suitcase up the stairs, probably claiming a room. Phoebe was chatting happily to Gerald in the kitchen while making him a sandwich. The second thing I noticed was a short, balding middle aged man talking on the phone in a heavy British accent.

"Dear old dad is here." Jacob said annoyance. "Ten minutes and he's already wrapped up in business calls."

"Great. Good for him." I growled and crossed my arms. "But what I want to know is why the heck you haven't put me down yet?"

Jacob's lips curled into a sly smile. "You're right. My bad."

He then opened his arms and unceremoniously dropped me onto the hardwood. "Ow! You jerk!"

I leapt up with an angry yell and Jacob laughingly sprinted up the stairs. Forgoing any sort of dignity I chased after him, my feet clomping heavily on the stairs. But I was still winded from my race with Arnold and Jacob managed to get to the second floor before I could and disappeared from my sight. By the time I got to the second floor I was holding my side and gasping for breath.

"Where are you, you blimey bastard?" I said in my fake British accent.

"Um, that accent is Scottish not English!" Jacob called from down the hall.

I narrowed my eyes and headed in that direction. I was just passing by an open door when a pair of arms reached out in pulled me inside. My scream was muffled by a hand and I came face to face with Jacob's smiling mug. A growl emitted from my throat did nothing but make him smile harder so I licked his palm.

"Ugh!" Jacob snatched his hand away and wiped it on his jeans. "Pataki you're gross."

"And you're a pain in the butt!" I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "Now you have five seconds to explain why you pulled me in here before I rip those tattoos off of you."

Jacob gave me another sly smile and went to sit on the bed. His luggage was piled at the foot of it. "What if I told you that I had a proposition for you?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "What kind of proposition?"

"Well… by sheer coincidence both of our exes are here. I don't know about yours, but mine gets on my last nerves."

"Arnold doesn't get on my nerves." I said quickly.

Jacob dismissed that with a wave of his hand. "Yeah, yeah you two are best friends. But he's still your _ex-_ boyfriend. I mean, no offense, but I don't see him declaring his undying love for you either."

A chill went down my spine and I had to remind myself to breathe. I swallowed the self-doubt that was welling up in my throat and forced my expression to remain calm and nonchalant.

"So?" I monotoned. "What's your point?"

"My point," Jacob's smile grew devilish, "why not mess with our respective exes? Play with their minds a little and try to make them jealous. Rhonda seems to get the right idea. You looked ready to kill her. Why not give them a taste of their own medicine?"

My carefully nonchalant expression slipped as my eyes widened. Make Arnold jealous with Jacob? The thought hadn't crossed my mind before, but the idea was so… tempting. Arnold already didn't seem fond of Jacob, and what better way to show that I was over him than to flaunt a new guy in front of him? Besides, it would serve Rhonda right to confirm all of her stupid suspicions. And maybe, just maybe, in the adverse and conflicting way of men, Arnold's rage at seeing me in the arms of another man might force his wayward heart to return to me. It was all so perfect, so beautifully simple, so… fourth grade.

The embarrassing memory hit me like a soggy brick. I had pulled this exact same stunt in fourth grade with Stinky Peterson. The plan of course, had back fired tremendously and Arnold had barely noticed us. Even worse, me with my clever ideas tried the inverse and tricked Arnold into a fake relationship with me in order to make Lila jealous under the guise that he'll fall for me again. Again, backfired. Lila didn't get jealous and Arnold didn't stick around long enough to fall for me. Making Arnold jealous with Jacob wasn't a brilliant idea, it was another ridiculous immature Helga scheme.

"Thanks, but no thanks Jacob." I sighed. "That just sounds childish. I haven't done that kind of stuff since grade school."

The smile dropped from Jacob's face and he looked away with an expression that for a minute I could have sworn was hurt. But then this expression changed back into a mutual one and he flopped back onto his bed.

"Whatever Pataki, your loss." He said lightly.

I rolled my eyes, opened the door to leave, and came face to face with Arnold, his fist still lifted and ready to knock.

"Arnold!" I exclaimed in surprise. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I was… worried." Arnold slowly lowered his fist and glanced behind me at Jacob. "Gerald told me that you chased Jacob up here after he dropped you on the floor?"

"You came up here for that?" Jacob laughed from the bed. "Geez dude, Helga isn't a child! She can take care of herself you know."

Arnold's expression became dangerously close to a glare. "I never said she was, Jake. But still, it never hurts to have someone looking out for you."

Jacob closed his eyes and his mouth turned down into a frown. "A- I look out for Helga plenty, and B- she doesn't need anybody looking out for her. Especially not her ex-boyfriend. You know, because you're her ex for a reason."

There was a loud thump as my jaw hit the floor. My face grew hot from a mixture of anger and mortification. I was torn between murdering Jacob and running screaming from the room. But when I risked a glance at Arnold, I felt my feet freeze to the stop. Arnold, gentle, peace loving Arnold's eyes were burning with almost completely unveiled fury. I was pretty sure hell had frozen over because even I have never caused that look from him before.

"Hey man!" Gerald suddenly popped up behind us. "We gonna pick out our rooms or what? Mr. Dolton said that we can each get our own."

Arnold didn't answer for a moment. Instead he closed his eyes and his lips moved silently as if he was counting to ten in his head. I avoided Gerald's eyes as he shot me an interrogative look. When Arnold finished counting he let out a breath and finally answered his best friend.

"Yeah let's go. Do you need help with your bags?"

It took me a minute to realize that he was talking to me. Before I could formuate an actual response, he was already grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room. Arnold strode purposely down the hallway towards the stairs still holding my hand. Gerald caught up with us and eyed our clasped hands in confusion.

"Uh... is there something going on between you two?" He asked.

"No." I said quickly pulling my hand out of Arnold's. "And I can handle my own bags, football head."

Gerald gave Arnold a look and he shrugged.

"Helga's right Gerald. There's nothing going on that you don't know about." Arnold said cryptically.

I definitely rose half an eyebrow at that. Were these two Yahoos talking about me behind my back or something? But then Gerald noticed me still standing here and carefully cleared his expression. "Whatever man, you do you. Come on and help me set up the xbox though so we can play some modern warfare before we hit the beach."

Arnold grinned. "Sounds like a plan to me."

They did their stupid handshake and moved passed me down the stairs leaving me completely confused. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Hey Pheebs?" I called out.

She poked her head out of one of the rooms and smiled at me. "Yes Helga?"

"Wanna room together?" I asked hopefully.

My best friend smiled bringing me a sense of peace. "That sounds like an excellent idea. I'll come help you unpack."

She practically came skipping out of the room and I draped my arm around her shoulders. We went down the stairs together. In the living room Arnold and Gerald were sorting through the pile for their luggage while Nadine struggle to drag Rhonda's giant travel trunk across the floor. As soon as Phoebe and I entered the living room, Rhonda turned on the charm and batted her eyes at Arnold.

"Oh Arnold we absolutely must go swimming soon," she purred. "I can't wait to see what five years in the wilds has done to you."

I rolled my eyes at her obvious attempt to piss me off. "He's become an absolute wild man Rhonda. He foams at the mouth and swings through trees. " I said sarcastically.

Everyone snickered at my comment, but I think the joke was more on Rhonda's pathetic attempt at flirting. But then Arnold gave a smile and the next words out of his mouth sent utter chills down my spine.

"Yeah I might bite and everything." Arnold said throwing me a wink.

He knew what he was talking about. I definitely knew what he was talking about. And most importantly he knew that I knew what he was talking about. It took a discreet pinch from Phoebe to break me from my stunned trance. But by that time it was too late for me to come up with a witty comeback because Arnold was already disappearing up the stairs with Gerald.

* * *

 **A/N- short chapter but I figured better upload a short chapter than make you gus wait a month for an update**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N- Making a few... directional adjustments to this story. Your reviews really help and I appreciate and love the fact that you guys seem to be enjoying this story so far.**

The white sands and the blue ocean reflected the bright sunshine with blinding brilliance. The air was hot and the breeze was warm. I laid on a blanket next to Phoebe under a large beach umbrella, using the shade to keep the sun directly off of my skin. Even though I wasn't as delicate as Pheebs, Patakis were genetically easy burners. Still, that didn't stop me from letting it all hang out in a pink bikini Olga bought me especially for this trip. If there one thing I definitely wasn't insecure about was my body. I spent too many years keeping it in shape with dance and sports to be ashamed of it.

"Isn't it so nice out Helga?" Phoebe sighed in contentment, sitting in her lounge chair. "You were right, I did need a vacation."

"Aren't I always right?" I smirked, peeking over the top of my sunglasses to wink at her.

She giggled in agreement and went back to reading her book. Unlike me, Pheebs was painfully modest. Not only was she wearing a one piece, but she also had on a sheer hip wrap and a large sun hat. She seemed perfectly content though, so after double checking that the book she was reading in no ways resembled an educational book (it turned out to be sci-fi), I leaned up on my forearms and turned my attention to the guys. Whatever awkwardness between the three of them seemed to be over as they played Frisbee in the water. Arnold looked every bit as good as I fantasized. The water ran down his toned torso in sparkling rivets. His gorgeous blond locks were hanging in his face, darkened and sodden by the water. And his carefree smile was beautiful as he threw the Frisbee. But the most distracting thing by far was the way his swim trunks hung over his hips and clung to his backside.

"In the mood for some ice cream, Helga?" Phoebe asked with a sly giggle.

"N-no!" I stammered and quickly pulled my shades back up. "I was just admiring the view that's all!"

Oh, I was in the mood for ice cream all right. And not in the childish, scribble his name in a notebook, write beautiful poetry way either. It was way too dangerous to think this way. I tried to turn my head away from him before every lustful thought showed on my face, but of course my traitorous heart forced my eyes to wander back to him. Arnold threw the Frisbee to Gerald who threw it to Jacob, but it sailed way over his head and disappeared under a wave. While Jacob dove under water to get it, Arnold turned towards me and smiled, giving me a tiny wave. I smiled and waved back. I thought he would turn his attention back to his game, but he just went on looking at me. I started shifting uncomfortably, feeling fully aware of how exposed I was in this bikini. Was I not as in shape as I thought I was?

"It looks like Arnold is enjoying quite the view." Phoebe remarked quietly as if she was reading my mind. "More specifically, he seems to be enjoying looking at you."

"Or he could just be looking at the house." I shrugged. "Guess there's only one way to find out." I sat up completely and cupped my hands around my mouth to amplify my voice. "Hey hair boy! Take a picture it'll last longer!"

Arnold gave me a bashful grin before turning back to his Frisbee game, just in time to catch the Frisbee Jacob threw at him. I sat back again with a small satisfied smile on my lips. I guess he was staring at me after all. Phoebe cleared her throat drawing my attention to her. She gave me a thoughtful smile and put her book away.

"So," she smiled, "something seems to be going on between you two. Did something happen while you two were out racing?"

"Well…" I bit my lip and tried to contain my nervous excitement. "He says that he wants to spend more time with me. Alone. I can't be crazy in thinking that means something right?"

I expected Pheebs to smile and agree with me. Maybe we would even have one of those girly movie moments when we squealed and grabbed each other's hands or something. But Phoebe didn't even smile. She nodded once and looked down, shuffling her foot in the sand.

I rose an eyebrow. "Pheebs? Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Um… it's just…" Phoebe seemed to looked everywhere else but me. "Has Arnold said anything approaching the subject of his parents or San Lorenzo? Has he told you his plans?"

I felt my earlier excitement wane a little and start to get replaced with irritation. "No. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Now Helga I'm not trying to upset you… but you have to consider every possibility." Phoebe adjusted her glasses. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up needlessly."

The last remaining bit of excitement I felt vanished. What if Arnold only wanted to get close to me because he would be leaving right after we left the beach house? He kept asking me for those stupid letters I wrote, what if he just wanted to get me to write him this time? Phoebe was right, I could just be setting myself up for another heartbreak all over again.

"Helga? Helga!" Phoebe gently shook my shoulders to bring me back to earth again. "Helga, please! I didn't mean to panic you, I just think that it would be wise if you and Arnold-"

"Oh Nadine isn't this weather gorgeous!?"

I growled and put my shades on to cover any leftover emotion that might be showing in my eyes. Rhonda and Nadine walked up and laid a beach blanket next to ours. Nadine was wearing a modest green two piece with a skirt bottom. Rhonda on the other hand was wearing a red and black one piece with a large boob window and the back and stomach cut out. Rhonda gave me a dirty look as she sat down their blanket but gave Phoebe a friendly smile.

"Phoebe, your bathing suite is cute." Rhonda said with a nod of approval.

"Thank you, Rhonda." Phoebe said meekly.

"I'm really glad Jacob decided to invite me out here." Nadine said. "Work has been brutal lately."

"Ugh, you're telling me." I grunted. "I swear Carlos rides me for the stupidest reasons."

Rhonda gave me a malicious smirk. "I bet he's not the only one who-"

"Rhonda!" Nadine interrupted sharply. "That's completely uncalled for and you know it!"

"No Nadine let her finish!" I whipped off my sunglasses and gave Rhonda the nastiest glare in my arsenal of glares. "What the hell were you about to say to me you spoiled brat?"

"You heard me." Rhonda returned my glare with a nasty one of her own. "Collecting guys is probably a hobby for you. Especially since you can't seem to keep one of your own."

I was on my feet in an instant, ready to punch in that red lipsticked, self-satisfied face of hers. Phoebe jumped up as well, quietly begging me not to, but I couldn't hear her over the sound of my blood running hotly through my veins.

"Rhonda, you need to apologize." Nadine said firmly.

"No I won't!" Rhonda stood up and faced my glare. "Admit it Pataki, ever since you got dumped by your one and _only_ boyfriend, the only way you can make yourself feel better is by stealing everyone else's."

There was a split second before my fist was about to collide with her face when I heard something that stopped me.

"Woo! Girl fight!" Jacob yelled excitedly from the water. "Take your tops off!"

A stupid, immature comment that would have been more fitting of a freshman high schooler than someone who was nearing thirty. But it snapped me right into perspective. This was the guy Rhonda was acting like a total witch over? For goodness sake, we had just graduated high school and now we were fighting over a guy that neither of us were dating?

"Come here!" I roughly grabbed Rhonda by the arm and began dragging her towards the beach house. I heard Phoebe and Nadine yell something behind us, but I kept dragging a fighting and struggling Rhonda. We brushed past Mr. Dolton on the porch who gave us a confused look but kept talking on his cell phone. I didn't stop pulling Rhonda behind me until we reached the kitchen.

"My lawyer will sue you! He will sue your father! He will sue your entire family!" Rhonda shrieked. "Let go of me immediately!"

"Gladly!" I threw her away from me and couldn't help the small bit of satisfaction I felt from her hitting the kitchen island with a small grunt of pain.

"Well?" Rhonda glared at me, rubbing her bruised shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Hit me already! That's what you want isn't it? Just do it so I can press charges for assault!"

"Oh trust me, I want to." I folded my arms to resist the temptation. "But I'm not going to. At least not yet anyway."

"Then get out of my way." Rhonda huffed and angrily tried to push past me.

"I didn't steal Jacob from you!" I called after her.

Rhonda stopped and slowly turned around to face me. I was surprised to see that despite her angry expression, tears were budding in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh, of course you didn't steal Jake from me," she said sarcastically, "it's just a total coincidence that after two years of dating, he hangs out with you for a few weeks and then suddenly dumps me!"

"It was a coincidence!" I yelled in angry exasperation. With a sigh, I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to moderate my voice, "Rhonda, think about it, if I really did steal Jacob from you, wouldn't we be dating right now? Because I can assure you that we are not dating."

Rhonda scoffed and tossed her head. "I don't know or care how you operate Pataki. You're probably just enjoying herself teasing him for all I know."

"No, I'm not." I said with strict firmness. "You heard him out there. You know how immature he is. Why would I want _that_ for a boyfriend?"

"Simple." Rhonda sneered at me. "Because Arnold dumped you and ran away to San Lorenzo to get away from you."

A year ago, that statement would have made my heart stop on the spot and kill my will to get up in the morning. Hell, a week ago I probably would have been bawling in the corner and ready to take my anger out on everyone and everything in a ten mile radius. But the feeling of Arnold's warm hand in mind just earlier today still lingered. And when he first came back, he swore to me that he didn't go to San Lorenzo to escape me. Phoebe's warning not to get my hopes up flickered in the back of my mind, but it was small compared to the sense of peace I felt.

"Well?" Rhonda continued to sneer and put her hands on her hips. "Are you going to admit that's why you stole my boyfriend or aren't you?"

I shook myself out of my thoughts and turned my attention back to her. And that's when I fully realized something that I had been almost completely blind to.

"Oh my gosh," I gasped softly, more to myself than her, "You're me."

Rhonda's sneer transformed into a look of utter disgust. "Um excuse me!? I believe there's a big difference between me and you Pataki. A fashion sense for one."

I shook my head and sighed, trying to call up my last remaining bit of patience. "No Rhonda. You're how I used to be. You're angry and lashing out because Jacob hurt you."

"Of course I'm angry!" Rhonda yelled. "You stole my boyfriend! And I thought we were friends!"

"No." I said calmly with a shake of my head. "You thought you loved him."

Rhonda gave a strangled gasp and when the tears finally fell from her eyes I knew my theory was right and I hit the nail on the head. My normally cold and indifferent heart ached for the poor girl. If there was anyone who would understand how it felt to have the rug pulled out from under her in a relationship it would be me. How many times during my brief relationship had I been disappointed because things hadn't been as perfect between Arnold and I than I thought they would be? And at least I saw our break-up coming because of all the fights we had. If Arnold had been hanging out with another girl then dumped me, I would have probably come to the same conclusion Rhonda had. Speaking of which, Rhonda hastily wiped at her eyes and sat down heavily on a kitchen stool.

"For the record," she sniffled softly. "I do find Jake to be a bit immature and juvenile. But back when we first started dating, he was so exciting! And adventurous! And it was so refreshing to be dating an older man and someone who wasn't stuffy like the sons of my parents' friends."

I laughed and sat next to her. "Yeah, it was a shock to all of us when you introduced him to us junior year."

"Oh trust me, he was a lot cleaner back then." She giggled. "And things were fun for a while until…you."

"Whoa, whoa, don't go there again." I lifted my hands up defensively. "I thought we were getting past this princess. Jacob and I were just co-workers. Hell, I didn't even like him at first."

"Oh I don't care about that." She dismissed with a wave of her hand. "It was the fact that it happened. He starts hanging out with you, suddenly starts neglecting me, and then dumps me! Me! No one has ever dumped a Lloyd before in the history of Lloyds!"

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and tried to hold on to what little sympathy I had left for the girl. But behind the typical Rhonda conceit was a fundamental truth; it hurt to get dumped. No matter the actual situation, you start to blame yourself. You think that it was your fault, that you could have done something differently instead of realizing that sometimes things just don't work out.

 _Oo, that's good._ I mused in my head. _Note to self: write that down._

"Ugh, Jake is such a jerk." Rhonda shook herself as if shaking off the past few hours. "I can't believe I wasted so much time on him."

"Told ya." The few drops of sympathy for her left and I was back to being blunt and cynical. "Told ya from the first time you called me a man-stealer that Jacob wasn't even worth your time."

Rhonda gave me a look and raised an eyebrow. "Well if he isn't worth _my_ time, then why do _you_ spend so much time with him?"

I rolled my eyes but before I could answer her, Nadine walked into the kitchen looking as if she was about to walk into a crime scene. She visibly relaxed and gave a breath of relief when she saw that Rhonda was indeed still breathing. I pretended to look at an imaginary watch.

"Took you long enough." I said sarcastically. "I could have killed her three times over already. And in a kitchen full of sharp objects and all that."

"Hmph, like you would dare." Rhonda scoffed and hopped off her stool. "Come on Nadine, let's work on our tans so this trip isn't a _total_ waste."

Nadine frowned and looked between us in confusion. "So… is everything alright now between you two?"

Rhonda and I looked at each other questioningly. I raised half my eyebrow and shrugged. It wasn't like she and I were close friends or anything like that, but it would make things a lot easier to remove this stupid tension between us. As if reading my mind, Rhonda shrugged too.

"Nadine, a Lloyd never dwells on petty matters." She said as if she hadn't been doing exactly that. "Now are we going to tan or not?"

Nadine looked at me one more time to confirm that we weren't going to kill each other later. I nodded and she smiled in relief. "Coming Rhonda."

They left the kitchen and I let out a long breath, suddenly feeling exhausted. How in the world did I manage to get sucked up in stupid girly drama when I had my own Arnold related chaos. There was the sound of a throat clearing and of course as fate would have it, there was Arnold standing in the doorway. He had on an unbuttoned shirt, his swim trunks, and was still a little damp from his swim. I tried to mentally get my heart to slow down as I looked at him.

"Yeah?" I asked dryly. "Here to witness the not fight between me and Rhonda?"

Arnold gave me a small smile and came over to sit next to me. "Well… when I saw Rhonda and Nadine come out of the house without you, I started to fear the worst."

"Ha!" I scoffed rolling my eyes. "Nadine and princess taking down Helga G. Pataki. Not in this universe bucko."

"Yeah well, Helga G. Pataki resisting a fight isn't exactly normal either." Arnold laughed in a way that almost made me melt on the spot. "But I'm proud of you."

I pursed my lips to keep from smiling like an idiot and but there was no stopping the blush from my cheeks. "Like I care about your approval football head."

"That's because you don't need it."

The smile was immediately wiped from Arnold's face as Jacob walked into the kitchen. Unlike Arnold, he had opted not to put on a shirt leaving his toned arms and chest fully exposed to the world. Jacob clicked his tongue and gave me a small smirk.

"I'm actually disappointed in you Helga." He chuckled. "I expected you to at least give the princess a black eye for all the crap she's been giving you."

"Helga wouldn't do that." Arnold said in a voice low enough to be a growl. "She wouldn't get into some petty cat fight."

"And you know this from experience?" Jacob scoffed. "I think I know her a little better than you do and she doesn't give empty threats."

"I'm not saying she does. Heck, I _know_ she doesn't." Arnold continued to glare at him. "I'm the one who grew up with her remember?"

"And you're also the one who left her."

Arnold sucked in a sharp breath and shot a wary glance at me, but I was more shocked by Jacob's… maliciousness than anything.

"Um… can we both calm down?" I frowned. "And for the record Arnold, I'm not a saint. I made the executive decision to not bust Rhonda's lip. But if she mouths off to me again I just might. And Jacob? Yes. Arnold and I dated, then he dumped me and moved to San Lorenzo. Happy? The big secret is out now." I finished in the most sarcastic tone ever, my lips in a snarl.

Jacob had the decency to at least look a little sheepish. "C-come on, Helga you know I didn't-"

"Like hell you didn't." Arnold grumbled. "Look, I'm just going to be upfront and ask you this Jake. Do you have a problem with me or something?"

"Problem?" Jacob's eyes widened as if the thought never occurred to him before. "What makes you think I have a problem with you?"

"Because you act like a jerk." I answered for him and nudged Arnold's arm. "But like I told hair boy, being a jerk is your second nature, and he's taking it way too seriously."

"Yeah I'm a jerk." Jacob smile giving me a jaunty look. "Besides, if I really had a problem with you shorty, you'd know it."

Arnold narrowed his eyes. "Is that a threat?"

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. Jacob was purposely turning my sweet, peaceable Arnold sour for the sake of his own amusement. "Jac- Jake, will you please leave him alone? Arnold's not going to fight you just because you're trying to goad him into one. Arnold doesn't do fights or sparing matches or any of that stuff."

Arnold turned to me and gave me a look of mild hurt. "What makes you think I wouldn't? Grandma taught me tae kwon do. I could totally take Jake in a fight."

I cringed and tried to stifle a laugh while Jacob burst out laughing. "Your grandma taught you martial arts, and you think that means you can take me!?" Jacob hollered, tears beading in his eyes from laughing so hard. "Did you get sunstroke out there or something football head?"

The sound of my nickname for Arnold coming out of Jacob's mouth immediately wiped any trace of humor from my face and made Arnold turn crimson with anger. In two quick seconds he was face to face with Jacob, glaring heatedly at him.

"Any time, any place." Arnold growled, totally out of character and fuming. "Name it. And we can go whenever you're ready to get your ass handed to you."

I gasped at the sound of coarse language falling from my beloved's lips. Never in any context or situation that I can remember have I ever heard Arnold curse. But Jacob merely smiled that sardonic smile of his. "Sounds good to me."


	18. Chapter 18

I, Helga G. Pataki, thought that I had the world figured out until today. The sky was blue because of refraction of water molecules. Strawberries were deceptive demon fruit sent to make me miserable. And my beloved Arnold was a pacifist who enjoyed making people happy and solving the world's problems. There had been no doubt in my mind that Arnold would calm down and settle things with Jacob that didn't involve physical fighting. But here he was, right before my eyes, standing in a circle drawn in the sand, staring Jacob down with a determined look on his face and stretching. I tried not to notice how his shirt was off again leaving him in his swim trunks. Gerald was near him, looking like he was giving him an avid pep talk.

"Pheebs," I said. "Am I really about to see what I think I'm about to see?"

"It appears so, Helga," Phoebe said. "Though I have to say, I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Surprised is an understatement." Rhonda scoffed. "Jake must have said something serious to irk Arnold like this."

I heaved a breath of annoyance and waved at Jacob to get his attention. Jacob gave me a bland smile and gave me two thumbs up. I rolled my eyes at his blatant feign of ignorance and stormed over to him. He was standing a little away from the circle also stretching. A bit of fear crept up when I noticed just how muscular Jacob was. Now Arnold wasn't a twerp anymore but Jacob had about twenty pounds on him easy.

"Jacob!" I said when I reached him. "Will you cut this out ready? Stroke your ego by creaming him in COD like a normal person or something."

"Oh, relax Helga." Jacob chuckled. "It's just a little beach wrestling. It's not gonna kill him. What are you so worried about?"

I scoffed. "Pfft, I ain't worried about that football face. I just think this is stupid."

"Why? It isn't stupid when we spar?"

"That's different. We wrestle because we like each other."

I instantly regretted my words as soon as Jacob's lips curled back in a teasing smile.

"You're a good sparring partner," I said quickly. "And I love wrestling. Arnold doesn't."

"Looks like he's pretty into it to me." Jacob nodded behind my shoulder in Arnold's direction. I glanced over and nearly jumped. If Arnold was giving Jacob a determined stare before, he was outright snarling now. I frowned in confusion. Had San Lorenzo really changed Arnold that much?

Suddenly, Jacob grabbed my shoulders and spun me around to face him. He leaned in close with that predatory smile on his face until our noses touched. As usual, my stomach clenched at the sudden close proximity of another human, but because it was Jacob my nerves didn't go haywire. That didn't stop me from snarling at him, though.

"Jacob, what the hell do you think you're doing?" I said in a low growl. "Let me go or I'll break your spine."

"We made a bet," Jacob said, clearly ignoring my threat. "That's why we can't just drop this. Both of us are pretty serious about winning."

"Well, what the heck could you possibly havemebet?" I hissed. "Pink slips? Bragging rights? Loser becomes winner's slave for a day?"

"Hey!" Arnold yelled angrily. "Are we going to do this or what?"

Jacob smirked and gently moved me to the side. "Ready when you are, buddy."

Both Jacob and Arnold moved to the circle in the sand and stood in the middle of it. Gerald moved in between them and made sure that they were at least a foot apart. The rest of us gathered around to watch.

"Ladies, and ladies." Gerald started out in a smooth announcer's voice. "Before you today are two men with nothing to lose and everything to gain. On my right is my man Arnold, 135 lbs but quick and wiry. On my left is Jake, 200 lbs of solid muscle whose bark may just be as bad as his bite."

"Get on with it Geraldo!" I yelled impatiently.

Gerald shot me a dirty look before continuing. "The game is beach wrestling. The rules are simple. First to step out of the circle has their elbow or knee touch the ground, or is pinned by their shoulders loses. No fighting dirty which means no biting, scratching, nut shots, or throwing sand. Anything else goes. Ready?" Gerald paused for dramatic emphasis, slowly backing out of the ring. "GO!"

Arnold and Jacob lunged at each other, clashing with a dull thump, and started grappling for dominance. Jacob tried to force Arnold down to his knees, but my ex-beloved managed to redirect the force Jacob was extruding and made him stumble in a half circle. As I watched I found my annoyance turn into reluctant excitement. What can I say? This entire situation was stupid, but I loved a good wrestling match. And the way their muscles bulged. Especially Arnold's. Not only did his arm muscles flex, but his shoulder and back muscles were practically rippling with the effort to both stay upright and get the best of his opponent. Jacob stuck his leg in between Arnold's, tripping him up and making him stumble. But Arnold managed to stop himself from falling at the last minute and swung his entire body around, breaking Jacob's grip on his shoulders in the process.

"YEAH! ATTA BOY ARNOLD!" I found myself screaming for him.

He flashed me the briefest smile before getting right back at it again. Phoebe giggled and nudged my arm.

"Getting into Helga?" She asked.

"Hey, it was a good move." I shrugged ignoring the blush on my face.

But even though Arnold had some good moves, tae kwon do and wrestling were two totally different things. Arnold could have had major skills in his own element, and right now he was holding his own, but there was no doubt that Jacob was the better wrestler. He was using his weight advantage against Arnold's limited wrestling skills, and it looked like he was tiring out. Suddenly Jacob shifted and put Arnold in a hybrid cross shoulder choke hold that he invented. Arnold was practically pinned against Jacob's chest as he struggled to break free. I cringed as Jacob began to put his full weight on Arnold, slowly sinking him to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this!?" A voice suddenly rang out.

We all turned to see Mr. Dolton coming down from the beach house towards Jacob and Arnold.

"What pops?" Jacob grunted, still trying to get Arnold down. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well, what in heavens name are you doing?" Mr. Dolton looked genuinely confused. "That boy is a child, you're a grown man!"

"I'm- nineteen-sir." Arnold gasped out.

"A child none the less," Mr. Dolton made a dismissive motion with his hand. "Not to mention this silly grappling is ridiculous."

Jacob shot his father a glare and Arnold used the distraction to finally break out of his hold. But before they could resume their match, Mr. Dolton stepped between them.

"Enough of this." He said sternly. "Gentlemen don't participate such silliness. I'll show you how real men settle their differences. With a good old fashioned boxing match. Come, Jacob, there are some gloves in the house somewhere."

Jacob rolled his eyes and gave Arnold a small smile, but there was a glare in his eyes. "I guess our little match is postponed, but don't think you're off the hook."

Arnold gave him a curt nod and they both moved away from each other, Jacob going into the house with his father and Arnold heading over the rest of us.

"My man!" Gerald yelled, clapping him on the back. "That was sweet! For a minute I thought he had you, but you showed him!"

"I don't think so," Arnold chuckled and started rubbing his shoulder. "For a minute, I thought that he was either going to break my neck or dislocate my shoulder."

"That's because you don't know a thing about wrestling, football head." I scoffed. "What made you think you could take Jacob in a wrestling match anyway? What happened to that fancy tae kwon do you were talking about?"

Arnold gave me a sheepish smile. "Actually, I'm only supposed to use that in self-defense. I was kinda bluffing back there."

 _Then why_ _the heck did you agree to do this!?_ I wanted to scream at him but didn't have the chance to before Rhonda started speaking.

"Well, I find this whole this barbaric and childish." Rhonda sniffed and flipped her hair. "Come, Nadine, I'm absolutely parched. Let's go into the house and I'll show you how to make alcohol free mojitos."

As they went into the house Gerald grabbed Phoebe's hand and began pulling her towards the water, saying that he was going to teach her how to surf. Which meant, once again, fate has intervened and left Arnold and I alone. Awkwardly and completely alone. Still rubbing his shoulder, Arnold shuffled his foot in the sand and spoke up first.

"So um, thanks for cheering me on back there." He smiled. "It was… really nice."

His green eyes looked into mine as he smiled and I felt my heart flutter.

"W-well, I shouldn't have wasted my breath," I said with a teasing smile. "It was a lucky move. Jacob totally had you with that last hold he made up. He would have eventually brought you to your knees."

Arnold's soft smile dissolved as he frowned. "Hey! That move was really hard to break out of. My shoulder still hurts."

"Oh, you big baby. I could have broken out of that hold in ten seconds flat!"

"Oh yeah?" Arnold's lips curled into a smirk and his eyes lit up. "Prove it."

I forced my gaze away from his distracting, luscious lips and shrugged. "Fine. I'll go get Jacob and we can-"

"No!"

The word came out so forcefully from Arnold that I had to stop and stare at him. Even he looked surprised at his outburst and quickly cleared his throat.

"I mean, he's probably still busy with his dad." He said in a more normal tone. "I'd rather it be just the two of us. But not here though. Come on." He then grabbed my arm and began pulling me away.

Normally, anyone who dares to grab and pull Helga G. Pataki anywhere would get two helpings of a knuckle sandwich, but my mind was too focused on his familiar touch to care. The skin where his fingers gripped my wrist felt like it was on fire. If Arnold wasn't so focused on finding a spot for us he probably would have noticed the goofy grin plastered on my face. He took me around the side of the beach house to the back yard. Instead of sand, the yard actually had a pretty well-kept lawn of grass. We went behind a small cluster of palm trees to be out of sight of the house.

"Is this good?" Arnold asked.

I quickly wiped the blissful smile off my face and resumed a neutral look. "Yeah, yeah it'll do. Now, let me show you exactly what happened. I don't want to spend all day teaching you how to wrestle."

Oh but I could have. I could have spent my entire life entangling my limbs with his. You know… because I loved wrestling. It had nothing to do with those toned arms or those burning green eyes. I mentally shook myself and moved behind him before he could read my thoughts on my face.

"Now, this is what Jacob did." I moved slowly and put Arnold in the same hold step by step so he could understand what was happening. My arm went across his shoulders while my other arm kept one of his away at an odd angle. "See?"

"Actually, it was a little tighter than this," Arnold said. "I could easily slip out of this. With Jacob, I could barely move."

It was true, Jacob had pulled Arnold flush against his chest until he was practically strangling him. I was making sure to leave as much space between our torsos as I could. But I couldn't very well tell Arnold that holding him even this close sent my heart skyrocketing now could I?

"I know that!" I snapped impatiently. "Do you want me to actually break your neck football head?"

"Helga," Arnold chuckled and turned his head to look at me. "I'm not that delicate."

I narrowed my eyes at the insult to my strength and jerked him back towards me and locked my grip up. We both let out a tiny gasp as our bodies fully pressed against each other. On his part, it may have been because I was near strangling him, but I couldn't find any excuses for myself.

"Um Helga?" Arnold's voice came out low. "I don't think this is right."

My shoulders slumped and my mouth went dry. Once again I had pushed things too far and made everything uncomfortable. Now Arnold was about to make up some excuse for us to stop and take off running.

"Shouldn't I be the one holding you?" He turned his head to look at me again and I saw that his eyes were a dark green. Once again his lips curled into that delicious smirk. "You know, so you can show me how to break out of it."

My eyes went wide but I obediently dropped my hold and stepped away from him. Slowly, agonizingly, Arnold switched places and stood behind me. I suppressed a swoon as he put me in the same hold I had just put him in and didn't hesitate to pull me flush against him in a tight grip.

"Is this okay?" He whispered in my ear. "I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?"

I could only give the tiniest shake of my head, not trusting myself to speak. Jacob had put me in this hold half a dozen times, but it never felt anything like this. I was still in my bikini and Arnold was still in his swim trunks. Every nerve in my body seemed to be hyper aware of how much of my bare skin was pressing against his bare skin. I could practically feel his heart beating into my back. Amongst… other things.

"So tell me Helga," Arnold whispered, "how would I break out of this hold that you claim is so easy?"

For a moment, I was tempted to put up a fake struggle just so we could stay in this position longer. But it was too compromising, too heart-poundingly intense. I would embarrass myself and send him running for good.

"L-like this, football head." I thrust my hips back against Arnold, making him stumble backward with a small grunt. Taking advantage of this I then did a quick spin away, unlocking his arm hold across my shoulders and breaking myself out of his grip. Almost. Just as my other arm broke out of Arnold's grip, he readjusted his hand and grabbed my arm again. And in one fluid motion pulled me right back to him.

I died. I had to have died. Because as Arnold's eyes stared into mine, our faces only a few inches apart, I definitely wasn't breathing and my heart had stopped moving. But a strangled gasp escaped from my throat as I felt Arnold's other hand gently press against the small of my back.

"I still have you." He whispered, his breath fanning across my lips.

It was a statement but he was searching my face as if he were asking me a question. There could be no denying it now. Whether I liked it or not, despite me trying so hard not to, I was absolutely, positively in love with my football headed, love god, ex-boyfriend.

"Yeah," The words reluctantly left my mouth. "Sucks for me."

It was nothing but the honest truth. No matter how much I tried growing up, no matter how far I ran, I would always be in love with Arnold. Even if his feelings changed or never developed in the first place, he still had me. The thought was depressing but right now it was hard to be too depressed with him so close to me, still holding me tightly.

"Helga?" Arnold asked quietly.

"Yeah?" I mumbled, feeling utterly defeated. "What is it football head?"

Arnold hesitated for a brief moment before decisively closing the distance between us. A muffled yelp emitted from my nose as I felt his lips press against mine. Fire erupted beneath the surface of my skin. My nerves danced on end. Electricity coursed through my body. It was such a simple, tamed kiss compared to our drunken tangle a week ago, but froze my body to the spot. When he felt that I wasn't responding Arnold slowly pulled his lips away but kept me in his arms.

"Helga?" He asked again. "Are you okay?"

I blinked at him stupidly waiting for my brain to catch up. I knew though that before I could make any decisions or make any moves, I had to ask a very important question.

"Are you drunk?" I asked, careful to keep my tone from sounding angry. "Even just a little buzzed? At all?"

"No," Arnold answered quickly. "I'm completely in my right frame of mind."

The tiniest smirk flitted across my lips. "Clearly you aren't."

Arnold's smile lit up his eyes as he leaned in again. This time, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to respond to his kiss as soon as his lips touched mine.

 _Has Arnold said anything approaching the subject of his parents or San Lorenzo? Has he told you his plans?_

Phoebe's warning came to the forefront of my mind making me grip Arnold's arms desperately. What if this was all temporary? What if this was yet another instance of 'heat of the moment' like every other single, stupid, freakin' time!? I tried to remember the piece of advice Phoebe had given me earlier, but all thought left my mind when I felt Arnold's tongue slide against my bottom lip and his hands fondled my waist. I practically melted in his arms with a small moan and forgot everything except for this moment. The only thought that managed to work its way through the thick, hazy fog was that I hoped Arnold's lips weren't writing a check he couldn't cash after this vacation was over.

 **A/N- Phoebe's advice was that they sit down and talk about their relationship and feelings before doing anything further.**


	19. Chapter 19

The world had shrunk down to the small cluster of palm trees we were hiding behind. Arnold's thumbs caressed my waist as his lips moved in perfect harmony with mine. His tongue tasted vaguely like chips as it gently explored my mouth sending shivers down my spine. His firm biceps rippled underneath my palms as I gripped his arms to stay upright. And his hard muscular chest pressed against my own making my whole body warm. Every time he had kissed me in the past I had been floating on cloud nine, but this was something entirely different. There was now an underlying fire in his kiss, a steady hunger that wasn't there when we were kids.

"Ugh Nadine, why are we back here again?"

Arnold and I both froze at the sound of Rhonda's voice. Our mouths separated, but his arms remained tightly around me preventing me from bolting.

"Because Rhonda, I want to give William a chance to stretch his legs," Nadine answered.

Arnold gently shushed me and motioned me to remain still and quiet. Peering through the trees I saw Nadine and Rhonda stepping out into the backyard too. Nadine held a glass jar and was shaking out a praying mantis into the grass. As soon as she was done and Rhonda dragged her into the house again, Arnold let out a sigh of relief and dropped is arms from around me.

"That was close." He chuckled. "I would have given _anything_ for Rhonda of all people not to come back here. The whole country would have known about… this."

My stomach clenched as I immediately picked up on the last word. He said "this" not "us". A thousand and one possibilities of what that meant went through my head. "This" could have been just hormones and convenience. "This" could have been nostalgia plus hormones and adult freedom. "This" could have been-

"Hey, Helga," Arnold's fingers gently combing through my hair brought me back to the present. His green eyes were a softer shade now as he looked at me in mild concern. "You okay? You got really quiet. Rhonda's gone now so we're safe."

"Yeah, I'm fine football head." I cleared my throat and pushed him away. "I think Imma head inside, though. It's…a little warm out here."

A playful glint came into Arnold's eyes. "Are you saying that I'm making you hot, Helga?"

"N-no!" I gave him a hearty shove in his stupid broad shoulder. "Now step back and give me some air football head!"

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold chuckled and obediently took a half step back, but in no way did he release me from his gaze. I expected his eyes to roam over my still exposed, bikini clad body but he kept his eyes on my face. "So what do you want to do now?"

 _You._ The response almost made it through my lips but I stopped it just in time. _Easy hormones. Down libido, don't look at the abs._

"We can go inside a watch a movie." Arnold continued hopefully. "Or I can make you a milkshake if you're really feeling hot."

I barely managed to keep from swooning at the thought of Arnold and me cuddling on the couch while sharing a milkshake out of two straws. It would be sweet. It would be adorable… Until Jacob jumped onto the couch between us, making us spill the milkshake all over ourselves. But then again, Arnold being covered sweet, sticky, chocolate shake wasn't such a bad idea either. _Geez Helga, get a grip before you embarrass yourself!_

"Eh, Jacob is in the house right now," I said, "I doubt either of us want to run into him and have to explain…"

I let my voice trail off hoping that Arnold would finish the rest. He didn't. Instead, he gave an infuriating half shrug with that even more infuriating smile that could mean anything. Or nothing at all. My jaw tightened, trying to contain my frustration and I leaned my back against the palm tree in order to find something to hold me up. The feeling of his demanding kiss left me wanting more, but at the same time, I felt like I was barely treading water as it was with my emotions. If I let Arnold in and he left me again, or worse, stayed and still left me, I wasn't sure if I would be able to recover again. But I also couldn't face the scrutiny of Phoebe or the rest of the world.

Opening my eyes I found Arnold still watching me with a small smile on his face, waiting for me. Waiting for my executive decision on what the next step will be. So… I decided.

"Let's just play this by ear," I said bluntly. "No need to make a big production out of …this."

I echoed his exact phrasing of whatever the two of us kissing meant to him. But then something in his semi-hopeful expression shifted like a door closing behind his eyes.

"Is that what you really want?" He asked in a completely neutral tone.

 _No! Fight for me you yutz!_ A voice inside me screamed. _Declare your love for me! Tell me that it's all or nothing for you!_

But then another, darker thought rose to the surface as well. _What if you aren't worth fighting for?_

"Look, Arnold," I sighed tiredly. "We're both adults here and we're both adults who happen to have… history together. Complicated history. And I'm not gonna lie, I find you really attractive-" the small slip of truth made that now familiar glint come back to Arnold's eyes and I quickly scrambled to recover- "But the key word here is complicated."

I paused, scared to keep talking or I'd really let the truth slip. The truth was that I was terrified. Arnold watched me silently for a few moments with a slanted look on his face.

"You're right," He said after a while, "things are complicated between us and I also find you attractive. Very attractive. So let's just play this by ear like you said."

I nodded even as my throat began to feel thick like I swallowed a peach pit. There was a burning sensation in my eyes and throat that I refused to acknowledge. The closed door behind Arnold's expression opened a crack but I was afraid to see what emotion lied there. He started to reach for me, "Helga I-"

"Race you to the beach!" I yelled and took off.

I didn't look behind me to see if he was following me. I didn't look behind me to see if he was just standing there with a confused look on his face. I just let my legs carry out of the backyard and away from the twisted situation and tangle of emotions that I had once again gotten myself into. The soft grass gave way to warm then hot sand as I transitioned from the backyard to the white sandy beach. I didn't stop as I passed Rhonda and Nadine sunbathing. I didn't stop as I passed Phoebe and Gerald wading back from their surfing lesson. I didn't stop until I was waist deep in the cold water and dove in head first.

All sounds disappeared into blissful silence. I opened my eyes underwater relishing in the sting of the salt. Light was muted this deep under, but I could still see my hair swirling around my face. I let out some of the air in my lungs letting myself sink deeper and stay under longer. Ever since the river incident in San Lorenzo all those years ago, I had taken swimming lessons almost religiously until I didn't need them anymore. It was peaceful under water, even as the tides kept rocking me back and forth.

But with peaceful surroundings came room for my not so peaceful thoughts. I basically told him that I wanted a secret, not really relationship. Was I a masochistic moron who craved emotional punishment, or was I just being cautious? Was Arnold just lusting after me or was he genuinely trying to be cautious too? And most importantly, why was I making things more complicated than it needed to be?

* * *

 _Helga grunted and swore as Jacob held her in an armbar. Her shoulder felt like it could disconnect from the socket at any moment. Jacob patiently kept her pinned under his leg while her back rubbed harshly against the carpet with her struggles. In the background, the tv was still on playing highlight from the Wrestle Mania match they had been watching at his apartment._

" _Give." Helga finally grunted in defeat._

 _"What already?" Jacob asked calmly, not releasing his grip. "You barely put up a fight. Come on hell-girl, you can get out of this."_

 _"I'm trying," she grunted struggling to twist out of his grip. Jacob twisted as she did though and she stopped as she felt her arm strain. "I can't okay! Now let go before you break my arm!"_

 _"Helga," Jacob said in a gentler, yet serious tone, "the reason why you can't get out of this hold is because you're letting me control the situation. Every time I move, you move with me."_

 _"That's because you're about to pop my shoulder out!" She snapped._

 _"Because you're letting me!" Jacob laughed. "Helga, you're the most kick-ass, stubborn chick I know! If there's anyone who can take control of any situation it's you. Now, take control and break out of this hold!"_

 _Helga yelled in frustration and forcefully jerked her entire body around. This time, it was Jacob's wrists that strained and with a small cry of pain he had to let go and she broke free of his grip. She rolled away from him and sat up with a triumphant smile._

 _"Sweet pork rinds, that was cool!" Helga laughed. "I think I heard a bone crack."_

 _"Yeah, exciting." Jacob laughed and sat up as well, rubbing his wrists. "But when you join the WWE, don't forget the one who taught you everything you know. Whoever controls the situation, controls the outcome."_

* * *

A shadow passed over my head making me look up. Gerald swam down towards me with his cheeks puffed out and a strained expression on his face. He did a clumsy back pedal to prevent bumping into me and gestured upwards frantically. I realized that I had sunk deeper than I had intended and the strain in my chest told me that I was reaching my oxygen limit. I nodded to Gerald and we began swimming upwards. I broke the surface first and sucked in a lung full of air. The shore was a little further away than I expected it to be and I felt a twinge of pride at how far I swam out. Gerald came up a few seconds after me, sputtering and gasping for breath.

"M-man!" He panted, "How do you stay under for so long Pataki?"

"Large lung capacity. Comes from me screaming all the time." I laughed. "If you can't handle a little deep water then why did you come out here in the first place?"

"Phoebe," Gerald paused, still trying to catch his breath, "She saw you go under and got worried when you didn't surface."

"Can't get rid of me that easily." I flashed him a gloating smile and began to swim back to shore. I was touched at Phoebe's concern, though. Good ol' Pheebs always worrying about poor reckless Helga.

"That was an incredibly foolish thing to do, Helga." Phoebe chided me as soon as I reached land. "I was worried about you when you didn't come up for air."

"Then next time, can't you send Jake after her?" Gerald chuckled. "For a minute there, I didn't think that _I_ would make it back."

The three of us laughed and my gaze drifted towards the house. Arnold stood there looking towards the water, his gaze pensive and meaningful. I would have given anything to know what he was thinking. But then again, I was the one calling the shots now. After all, whoever controls the situation controlled the outcome. And it wasn't so much Arnold that I had to control, it was myself.

 **A/N- I wanted this story to be different so this won't be resolved with just a kiss. Helga is still trying to find exactly where she stands with Arnold and balance her hormones and her own feelings along the way. Still, I'll try to make sure that I don't make this story too jumbled with extra plots that could kill the flow of the story. Unfortunately I've read a story or two that does that so I'm trying to be careful. Anyways, thank you guys for reviewing and reading my story :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Once the sun set everyone headed inside to start winding down and relaxing. After a shower and a shampoo, I sat on the bed while Phoebe sat behind me and brushed out my hair. In an attempt to wash out all of the salt water I had tangled it pretty badly. We had changed out of our beach clothes and were now wearing relaxed and comfortable shorts and t-shirts.

"So," Phoebe started, "I saw you and Arnold head into the backyard earlier today. Anything interesting happen?"

I grimaced at her hopeful tone. How could I tell my best friend that I ignored her advice and gotten myself into an even messier situation? But still, I had to maintain control. Over my emotions and over this complicated relationship of mine.

"I taught Arnoldo a move or two," I answered carefully. "I figured it was only fair with Mr. Dolton teaching Jacob some boxing moves. This way their rematch will be a little more interesting and less one-sided."

"You seem very partial to Arnold's victory." She noted next with a small knowing smile.

"I plead the fifth." I snickered. "Relax Pheebs. You'll be happy to know that I have the situation under control. You don't need to worry about me."

Phoebe stopped brushing my hair for a moment and tugged my hair back until I was looking at her upside down. Her lips were pursed in mild annoyance but her eyes held concern. I gave her a sheepish smile, hoping to reassure her. "Seriously Pheebs, I'm taking control of things. There's no need to keep worrying about me. Relax and enjoy the vaca."

There was a knock on the door and Jacob poked his head into the room covering his eyes. "You girls decent?"

"No, we're naked and making out," I smirked.

"Helga!" Phoebe blushed a deep red.

Jacob laughed and stepped inside. He was now wearing sweatpants and a heavy metal t-shirt. "Ooh, sounds like I came just in time then."

"Jake!" Phoebe squeaked.

"Phoebe!" Jacob echoed teasingly and hopped onto the bed with us. Phoebe scooted over to make room for him and resumed brushing out my hair.

"So how was sparring practice with Mr. Dolton, Jake?" Phoebe asked politely.

"Ugh," Jacob groaned, "He's overweight and slow but somehow I'm the one with the sloppy technique and no discipline."

I scoffed. "I believe it. If Mr. D was a few years younger, I'd definitely put my money on him."

Jacob leaned forward and gave my hair a sharp yank. I yelped then snatched the brush from Phoebe and threw it at him. He dodged it with a laugh and picked up a pillow, ready to strike.

"Don't!" Phoebe moved in between us and held up her hands defensively. "The last time you two had a pillow fight, Helga had to get stitches, you had to get a tetanus shot, _and_ you guys broke my glasses."

"She started it." Jacob pouted but settled back obediently. "Anyways, I was sent up here to see if you guys wanted to watch a movie downstairs with the rest of us, but I'm kinda liking it up here with you guys. Mind if I crash here for the night?"

"Ugh, no." I scoffed. "First of all, I don't trust you around Pheebs, and second of all, Gerald would kill you if he caught you here after dark."

"Helga's right Jake. You spending the night here is highly inappropriate."

"The little lady is right," Gerald said, suddenly in the doorway of our room. He had his special disapproving frown on just for Jacob. "I don't think you staying in my woman's room is the best idea you've had, man."

Instead of answering him, Jacob turned to me with a look of exasperation. "Why do guys always hate me?"

"Because everyone hates you." I laughed and jumped off the bed before he could pull my hair again.

* * *

Downstairs was almost completely dark except for a single lamp in the living room. Gerald went back trying to connect the blue ray player to the big screen tv and Phoebe kneeled next to him to help. Arnold and Nadine stood by the DVD case debating what movie to watch. Rhonda, lazy as usual, was lounging in the love seat painting her toenails.

"Oh, Jacob there you are." Rhonda cooed without looking up. "Be a dear and go make some popcorn. I'm famished."

Jacob rolled his eyes and flopped onto the long couch. "Rhonda, be a dear and stick that polish up your-"

"I'll make it." I interrupted. "Jacob would just burn it. Let me know when the movie starts."

"Use the air popper instead of the microwave," Rhonda called after me. "Much more authentic."

I ignored her command but I did set up the air popper since it would make more popcorn faster. Grabbing an extra large mixing bowl and setting it under the spout, I hunted through the cabinet for the popcorn kernels. After searching the bottom cabinets, I opened one of the higher ones and spotted a burlap sack on the middle shelf.

"Really?" I grunted in annoyance.

I tried to stand up on tiptoe to reach it, but my fingers could barely brush it. I grunted again. This time, I took a deep breath, relaxed my muscles, and _really_ stood up on the _very_ tips of my toes. Thank you, years of ballet classes.

"Be careful."

"Ack!" I nearly fell from surprise and spun around to see Arnold standing behind me, leaning against the counter watching me. I scowled, trying to keep my heartbeat under control. "What the heck are you doing? Spying on me?"

Arnold smirked and nodded to the twelve pack of sodas on the counter. "I'm not spying, I'm getting sodas. I just got…distracted."

My face got warm but I refused to melt on the spot just yet. "Well… make some noise next time or something. You almost gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry."

I turned back around and started to reach for the bag of kernels again, but this time, I felt super aware of how much my t-shirt was riding up, exposing the small of my back and some of my stomach. I didn't have to turn around to know that Arnold was staring at me. His eyes were practically burning a hole into me. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw that he was, in fact, staring at me, but his gaze was locked on my feet.

"I never knew you could stand on your toes like that." Arnold's voice was filled with wonder. "That's amazing."

"Thanks," I whispered, turning around so he wouldn't see me blush again. I managed to grab the bag of kernels this time with both hands and tried to slowly pull it off the shelf. But the bag was a lot heavier than I realized. The bag started to fall off the shelf much faster than I was prepared for. My whole body began to tip backward, but before I could even actually start falling, a strong grip on my waist stabilized me.

"I told you to be careful," Arnold said.

"Yeah, yeah."

He chuckled, low and near my ear, and kept his hands firmly on my waist. I took advantage of him being there and slowly lowered myself out of _en pointe_ , carrying the bag of kernels down with me. I set the bag on the counter before turning around to face Arnold. His hands remained on my waist, keeping me close.

"I'd make a good ballet partner wouldn't I?" He grinned.

I giggled. "I wouldn't mind seeing you in a pair of tights."

Arnold's grin turned into a soft smile as he started to lean closer.

"Um hello!" Rhonda called from the living room. "I don't hear any popcorn popping in there. And where's my soda!?"

I quickly pushed away from Arnold terrified that anyone could walk in on us. Disappointment briefly flashed through his eyes before he assumed a guardedly calm expression. Without another word, he grabbed the twelve pack of sodas and went into the living room.

"Helga-"

"Hold your horses, princess, it's coming!" I yelled.

I yanked the air popper open and poured a large amount of kernels inside. While it heated up and started popping I brooded in annoyance at myself. Perfect opportunity to kiss Arnold wasted because I was a coward. What happened to taking control of the situation? Instead, I was acting like I was in fifth grade again, scared of anyone finding out about my secret "not really", "friends with benefits-ish" relationship with Arnold.

"Why the heck should I be scared?" I mumbled out loud. "We're all adults here. It's not like it's a big deal. People our age do it all the time."

The popcorn poured, hot and already buttery, into the large mixing bowl. Once the air popper stopped, I unplugged it and carried the warm bowl into the living room. The living room was now completely dark so I turned off the kitchen light too. Everyone now had a can of soda next to them with the leftover ones off to the side. Someone had gotten a bunch of pillows and blankets tossed them randomly around. My eyes immediately went to Arnold who was sitting on one end of the couch, as far away from Jacob on the other side. Stealing a breath, I made up my mind and sat on the couch between them.

"About time," Jacob muttered, snatching the bowl from me. "I thought you got lost in there."

I didn't answer him though and instead moved just a fraction closer to Arnold. His eyes flickered towards me briefly but instead, he spoke to Nadine. "So what movie are we watching?"

"Snow White and the Huntsman," Nadine said reaching for the popcorn.

"Then a real action movie," Gerald grumbled. "I am not ending my first night of vacation watching Kristen Stewart mumble half her lines while looking half asleep the entire time."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Hmph, I don't care if you don't like her or not. Charlize Theron is the real star of the movie. Her outfits are so beautiful."

Every guy made a gagging noise but quieted down when the opening credits came on screen. With everyone's attention distracted by the movie, I took the opportunity to move just a little bit closer to Arnold. Again his eyes flickered towards me but if he noticed or minded he didn't say anything. I almost lost my courage right then and there. We were in the middle of the living room with Jacob next to me for goodness sake! What was I even planning on doing, secretly hold his hand in plain sight? But then I eyed one of the quilts on the floor. I quickly snatched it up and draped it over myself, pulling it to my chin. The quilt was so big that it partially draped over Arnold's lap too. He didn't seem to notice at first, but then he looked down at it then over at me.

"Do you mind if I…" he whispered.

"Free country," I whispered back.

Arnold gave me a small grateful smile and pulled half of the quilt over his lap. We didn't say anything more to each other and went back to watching the movie.

For a while, the film actually managed to hold my attention. It really wasn't that much different than the other Snow White adaptations, but it looked pretty cool. The effects were decent too. It was about at the halfway point of the movie when a feather light touch brushed against my thigh. At first, I dismissed it, thinking it was an accident or I if had unknowingly shifted the quilt brushed against me. But then it came again, firmer, and I realized with a shock that Arnold was softly running his fingers up and down my thigh. I stared at him in shock, almost completely forgetting that we weren't alone in the room. But even though Arnold's eyes remained fixed on the TV, it was definitely his hand running up and down the bare skin of my thighs raising goosebumps.

I snapped my head back to the TV before anyone could notice that I was ogling Arnold. He didn't stop what he was doing though and instead laid his whole palm against my thigh and continued caressing it under the blanket. I folded my arms across my chest and hugged myself tightly to keep myself in check (mostly to keep myself from swooning). Each caress of Arnold's hand made my skin feel more and more alive.

"Popcorn?" Jacob whispered next to my ear suddenly.

Arnold's hand gripping my thigh like a vice was the only thing that kept me from screaming. I blinked stupidly at Jacob realizing he was holding the now almost empty bowl of popcorn towards me.

"S-sure." I popped a few in my mouth before he pulled it away and started eating the rest.

Once his attention returned to the movie, Arnold's vice grip lessened a little. He then began gently caressing the spots where he had squeezed in a silent apology. This time, I let myself relax into his touch. My arms untangled themselves and my hand casually landed on his thigh. Surprisingly, Arnold jolted a bit and sucked in a quick breath. I glanced around in brief panic, but no one seemed to notice. I threw Arnold a look and he gave me a sheepish smile in response. We both turned back to the TV and my hand slowly went down to his knee. It was rougher than I expected. I caressed it softly feeling Arnold shiver a little as I did so. After a while, he removed his hand from my thigh altogether and grabbed the hand that was caressing his knee. A small bud of disappointment began to well up in my chest, but instead of removing my hand, Arnold laced his fingers through mine and held it. His green eyes flicked up towards mine and I saw nothing but warmth and affection in them. I allowed Arnold to see the happiness on my face for a moment before I turned back to the screen again.

Eventually, the Snow White movie came to a (disappointing) end and before the credits could even start rolling, Gerald popped it out and popped in a Mission Impossible movie instead. Arnold got up once to refill the popcorn, but as soon as he came back and handed the bowl off to Gerald, he pulled the quilt back over his lap and found my hand again with no hesitation.

* * *

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end though. The M.I. movie turned out to be nearly three hours long and by the time it was over Rhonda and Phoebe were asleep and everyone else was yawning. There was a debate on to whether or not to stick Rhonda's hand in a glass of water, but Nadine refused to let us. Instead, everyone shook themselves awake just long enough to begin trudging up the stairs to bed. I reluctantly let go of Arnold's hand so I could get off the couch and head to my own room. But just as Jacob disappeared up the step, Arnold pulled be back down towards him.

"Hey, guys-"

Arnold released me quickly and I straightened up just in time to see Nadine coming back into the living room. My face burned with embarrassment and my eyes were wide but if Nadine saw anything, she didn't give any sign. Rather, she yawned sleepily and pointed to the popcorn bowl on the floor.

"Are there anymore half popped kernels or shells?" She asked. "I was thinking about giving them to my Madagascar Hissing Roaches for a late night snack."

Arnold's lips curled up in thinly masked disgust. "Sure Nadine, knock yourself out."

"Thanks." She shuffled over to pick up the discarded bowl and headed back up the stairs. "Goodnight guys."

"Night," Arnold called back.

"Night." I echoed faintly and rose an eyebrow at Arnold. "Are you trying to get us caught?"

Arnold shrugged and looked away. "Does it matter?"

"Uh, yes! Doi! What happened to playing things by ear?"

"What happened to us all being adults?" Arnold looked at me with a somewhat annoyed expression. "It's a little late at night for us to start fighting don't you think. I'm getting pretty tired."

 _Tired of me?_ I thought but I kept my mouth shut. I have him a half shrug and the annoyed look faded a little.

"You wanna go to the roof?" He asked hopefully. "Maybe look at some stars?"

"It's almost one a.m. wouldn't it be a little cool by now?"

"There's a hot tub."

I bit my lip in thought. Everyone looked pretty wiped so I doubted anyone would come looking for either of us. Sure there would be no place to hide if they did, but the thought of a hot tub didn't seem like a horrible idea. "Alright. Meet me up there in a half hour."

Twenty-five minutes later I was in my other bathing suit (my other one was still drying) with a towel slung over my shoulder. I snuck out of the room as quietly as possible so I wouldn't wake up Pheebs and snuck onto the roof. Arnold was already in the bubbling hot tub, the circle of lights in the water making him glow like the angel he was. He turned to me with a smile, and a loving smile escaped my lips.

"Are you going to join me?" Arnold asked.

I shook myself out of my lovesick haze and smirked. "I guess so football head. Since you begged me."

Arnold chuckled and kept his eyes glued to me as I walked over. I kept a confident smile on my face hoping that he wouldn't sense how nervous I actually was. Once I sank down into the hot water and settled onto the ledge, Arnold slid over to close the distance between us and draped an arm over my shoulder.

"Isn't this nice?" He whispered. "Just you and me and the stars."

"It's beautiful," I whispered. The stars ahead of us sparkled faintly as the steam rose into the dark sky. I turned back to Arnold and stared into his beautiful green eyes.

"Have you thought about college yet?" He asked.

I groaned and closed my eyes. "You really know how to ruin a moment don't you Arnold?"

"It's important." Arnold insisted. He gently took laid a hand against my cheek and until I opened my eyes again. "You're so smart, Helga. I'd hate to see you throw that away in a coffee shop."

"You sound like my guidance counselor," I said dryly. "And trust me, I'd really rather not imagine Mr. Finnick in this Jacuzzi with me right now."

Arnold laughed at that, but wouldn't be led off topic. "Helga, I'm serious. You need to think about you futu-mmph."

My lips closed over his before that dreaded word could finish coming out of his mouth. I didn't even realize what I was doing at first, I just didn't want Arnold to talk about any future that may or may not include an "us" in it. But then that illicit thrill went through me when I realized exactly what I was doing. I broke the kiss quickly and stared at him wide-eyed. He stared at me for a hot second before cupping my face in both hands and pulling me back in.

Our lips connected his soft and firm while mine a little more hesitant. That hesitation faded away though when I laid a hand on Arnold's chest and heard his low moan of approval. Arnold's hand fell to my waist and pulled me flush against him. I grew bolder in my kiss and nipped his bottom lip with my teeth. Another moan escaped his wondrous lips and his tongue darted out to flick against mine. Our breathing got heavier as the mouths battled against each other. If the hot tub wasn't already bubbling, it was full on boiling now.

"We're not done talking about this," Arnold's voice was husky as his lips moved down my neck. "You can't avoid this conversation forever."

 _We'll see about that._ I hid my triumphant smile in his hair and just relished this moment.

 **A/N- Sorry about the slow updates but my hours at work changed.**


	21. Chapter 21

The soft morning sunlight filled the house. The only sound to be heard was the faint mummer of the ocean waves outside and the occasional cry of a seagull. I woke up with a sigh of contentment, feeling more refreshed and relaxed than I had ever felt in a while. Phoebe was still asleep in the bed next to me. She was practically buried in her pillows and covers and the way her mouth hung open, it looked like she would be asleep for a while.

"Mmm, I should visit rooftop hot tubs before bed more often." I moaned softly as I stretched my limbs.

Being careful not to wake up Pheebs, I grabbed my laptop and crept out of the bedroom. Judging by the snores coming from the boys' rooms, it was safe to say that I was the only one up which was just fine with me. Hell, I practically skipped down the stairs in my stocking clad feet with a song in my heart. And I wasn't going to even pretend that I didn't know what put me in such a good mood. I, Helga G. Pataki, had found whatever modern interpretation passed for love these days. Arnold P. Shortman, a pure souled saint and my personal torment for years, had been practically wrapped around my little finger last night. One kiss from me had almost completely undone his gentlemanly ways. And the kisses he gave me in return almost unraveled the last remaining bits of my sanity and restraint. Sure I would have hoped for more whispered declarations of undying affection, or rose petals, or chocolate, but hey, this was better than day dreaming wasn't it?

Once I reached the bottom of the steps, the smell of cooking meat and the sound of singing brought me out of my romantic musings. Curious and cautious, I walked into the kitchen and immediately had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. Mr. Dolton was standing at the stove, belting out an old song to his heart's content while cooking at the stove.

" _Rolling down the hill at dusk, the grass and nettles high/ I rolled until my britches fell and got poked in the eye._ " He belted out in a deep baritone voice.

Unlike most of the times I had seen him completely overdressed in business wear, Mr. Dolton was now wearing nothing but pajama pants, an old t-shirt, and a robe.

He whistled a little bit, stirring the food on the stove, and then began singing again, " _The nettles scratched, the grass it itched, but I didn't have a care/ For I was just a little lad, with bristles in my hair."_

Before I could decide whether or not to head back upstairs, Mr. Dolton glanced up and spotted me hovering in the doorway. I jumped guiltily. From what Jacob had always told me about his father, Mr. Dolton was a very serious man and probably wouldn't be happy to see me spying on him like this. But instead of getting annoyed, Mr. Dolton smiled and gestured me over.

"Well don't just stand there little lady," He smiled, looking a year or two younger, "Come in, come in. Have a nice hearty breakfast, m'dear."

"Um, thanks Mr. Dolton." I stepped into the kitchen and sat at the large table. The smell of cooking meat wafted towards me and my stomach growled. "Mmm, that smells amazing."

"A good English breakfast always starts off the day right." Mr. Dolton said cheerfully, shoveling eggs, beans, and plopping a big sausage on a plate. "Fried bread?"

"Uh, yeah sure. I mean, yes please."

I set my laptop up as he placed the loaded plate next to me. Two fried eyes, baked beans, fried tomato halves, and a sausage link were almost falling off the plate topped off by two pieces of toast. My stomach growled again and I wasted no time in digging in. Once my initial hunger subsided, I was able to slow down and write while I ate. Mr. Dolton continued cooking and his singing faded into the background as I got lost in the words I typed.

The words flowed through me as natural as my breathing. The words weren't philosophical musing about love or angst filled emotional release, but something deeper, more… real. My fingers danced across my keyboard creating soft clicking noising that somehow went in harmony with Mr. Dolton's baritone voice. As the pages of my document filled with words, my smile never faltered and my eyes never grew tired. Writing had always been a cathartic release for me before, but it hadn't felt this good in years. I sighed in happiness and content as I knew exactly who to thank.

 _Oh Arnold, my love,_ I toned in my head, _once again you are the muse that sets my world ablaze. Only you could ignite this burning passion within me._

" _That's because we're meant for each other, Helga." His gruff, silky voice answered._

 _I looked up I saw him walk into the kitchen, now our kitchen in our own cozy little home. Arnold was wearing pajamas with the shirt unbuttoned showing off his perfectly toned chest and stomach. He smiled at me, his eyes still hazy with sleep._

" _Good morning wife," He smiled, "You're up early. Working on your next best-seller?"_

" _Number thirty-two." I answered smugly. "Thanks to my wonderful husband."_

 _Arnold moved closer to me and threaded his fingers through my hair. "The only thing I did was marry the amazing, incredible woman in the world."_

 _I sighed and closed my eyes, waiting for his kiss. Oh, Arnold._

"Oh, Helga, Helga… Helga!"

There was a sudden, sharp tug on my hair, breaking me completely out of my day dream. I jumped with a shriek and whirled around to see Jacob grinning at me.

"Morning Helga," He chuckled, "having fun drooling over your laptop?"

"Jacob, what have I told you about rough handling women?" Mr. Dolton said with a disapproving frown.

"Yeah Jacob, listen to your father." I smirked.

"I did." Jacob leaned closer and returned my smirk. "He said not to be rough to women. I just rough to you."

I rolled my eyes but even I had to acknowledge when I had been hit. "Touché."

Jacob chuckled and went over to the cabinets where he pulled out a metal tea pot and a box of tea. He didn't speak a word to his father, but that was typical. I tried to go back to my writing but the words didn't slow as smoothly or as strongly as they did earlier. My fingers continued to move across the keyboard though as more people woke up and started entering the kitchen.

"Morning, Helga." Phoebe said sweetly, wearing her tai chi gear. "Morning, Jacob and Mr. Dolton."

Jacob grunted a greeting while Mr. Dolton gave her a more hearty response and handed her a plate of food. Phoebe momentarily looked daunted by it, but sat down at the table and started to eat. Gerald came in next, wearing a jersey and sweatpants, repeated the greetings, and also received a plate from Mr. Dolton. When her boyfriend sat down next her and began hungrily wolfing down his food, Phoebe looked relieved and allowed him to take bites off her plate as well. Nadine and Rhonda came in next, both of them already dress and Nadine carried a box under one arm. Nadine happily accepted a loaded plate and gave Rhonda a nudge to accept one as well when she was on the verge of refusing. Mr. Dolton looked around the nearly full kitchen table with a smile of satisfaction that everyone seemed to be enjoying his food.

"Right then, is there anyone missing?" He asked nodding to an empty chair.

"My man Arnold, he was just waking up when I last checked." Gerald chuckled. At the mention of his name, I glanced up and happened to see Gerald look directly at me when he spoke again, "It seems like he stayed up pretty late last night."

My eyes widened and I felt my face flame. Gerald gave a quiet chuckle and went back to eating his food like he hadn't said anything at all. The teapot suddenly screamed, making me jump again. It might as well have been an alarm screaming, Helga and Arnold made out in the hot tub! Helga and Arnold made out in the hot tub! But no one looked up and I felt the heat fade from my face a little. There was no question now, Gerald definitely knew something. I couldn't decide yet if that was good or bad. Geraldo wasn't my biggest fan, but he didn't seem like he was about to spill the beans either.

I barely even noticed when Jacob set down a mug of fresh hot tea next to me and sat down with his own mug until he took my cold plate of half eaten breakfast.

"Hey!" I barked.

"Oh please," Jacob dunked a piece of toast into his own mug of tea and stuffed it in his mouth, "You weren't even eating it."

"Well, you could gave asked first dope." I growled. I didn't put up much of a fight though because I honestly didn't mind. On the rare occasion I didn't finish my food, Jacob happily did it for me. So instead of arguing, I picked up my mug of tea and gratefully took a sip. Ironically, (or not so ironically since he was originally from England), Jacob had turned me on to the idea of drinking tea whenever I wrote. The caffeine and taste wasn't as sharp as coffee, but did help keep me focused and my mind clear.

"Ah, there you are my boy," Mr. Dolton said cheerfully. "Just in time for breakfast."

The velvety soft chuckle that answered him, made the hairs at back of my neck stand up.

"Good morning Mr. Dolton, morning everyone." Arnold said with just a touch of sleepiness in his voice. He thanked him as he grabbed a plate and sat down at the only space available at the table, right next to me. My heart beat thundered in my ears as he turned to give me a soft smile. "Morning Helga, sleep well?"

 _It would have slept better with you in my bed._ "Y-yeah. It was alright." I took a sip of tea, the searing heat making my head more clear, "Would have been better if Pheebs didn't talk in her sleep though."

Phoebe blushed and stuttered her denial while Gerald teased her about dreaming about him. The table laughed, comfortable conversation flowing between everyone. Mr. Dolton turned off the stove, put away the remaining breakfast ingredients, and excused himself to smoke outside. There was a brief chorus of everyone thanking him for breakfast before conversations resumed.

"So what are you typing?" Arnold asked me suddenly.

I quickly shut my laptop, my old habit of keeping my personal projects secretive and shrugged. "Nothing important. Just working on a little something."

"Working on what?" Arnold insisted with a bright smile.

I laughed loudly, trying to ignore the flutter in my stomach. "Why do you want to know bucko? You don't see me prying into your private life."

"I'm not prying." Arnold frowned. "I'm genuinely interested. Why is such a bad thing to you?"

"Because she's Helga." Jacob laughed. "You either have to pay or torture the secrets out of her."

Arnold's frown relaxed when he looked at Jacob to reply. He gave an easy laugh. "Usually I'd agree with you, but sometimes when I'm patient enough Helga opens up to me."

I groaned inwardly, knowing that if Arnold really did patiently insist I would eventually give in to him. And there was no way he could be allowed to know what I was writing about. I took a long drink from my mug until nothing was left.

"I need a refill." I gasped and started to stand.

"I'll get it." Jacob said quickly. He stood up and then grabbed my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before grabbing my empty mug and taking it over to the stove. Arnold went back to eating his food as if he didn't notice, but there were two hard spots of color on his cheeks. I rolled my eyes and gently nudged with knee with mine. His eyes met mine and softened.

"Hey man," Gerald called over to Jacob. "Mine getting me a cup of Joe while you're up?"

"Sorry, not coffee." Jacob didn't even turn around, but I could still see his insufferable smile. "Helga, loves it when I make tea for her in the morning. It's kinda been our tradition every time we stay the night together at her place or my place."

Arnold started choking on his food, everyone looked shocked while there was a look of scandalized glee on Rhonda's face. I patted Arnold roughly on the back and explained quickly, "I let him crash on my couch once or twice, and I've crash on his. No big deal guys." I looked at Arnold who was outright glaring at Jacob. "Nothing happened."

"Not for lack of tying." Jacob sighed dramatically, coming back to the table.

Everyone looked relieved at Jacob's teasing, mocking tone (except for Rhonda, who looked disappointed that there would be no fresh gossip to take back to Hillwood), but Arnold was still glaring daggers at Jacob. Jacob tried handing me the mug of tea, but instead I wordlessly got up from the table, grabbed my laptop and left the kitchen.

"Oh come on hell-girl, I was only teasing!" Jacob laughed after me.

"Ha. Ha." I mumbled dryly and practically ran upstairs, tears of delayed embarrassment stinging my eyes.

* * *

A hot shower and forty minutes of alone time made me realize how ridiculous I was being. Jacob was always teasing and taunting me. Hell, we practically made it an Olympic sport to tease, mock, and embarrass each other. Since when did I become a sissy who couldn't handle it without running away?

So after I changed into jeans, a tank top left my damp hair out to dry, I went back downstairs. Once again Mr. Dolton was in the living room on his phone, but this time he had a laptop balanced on his knees and a stack of papers next to him. He gave me a dismissive nod at my wave as I headed back into the kitchen. Arnold was the only one left, dutifully washing dishes at the sink. He had changed into jeans and a t-shirt, and was elbow deep in suds. He also didn't even look up when I went over to stand next to him.

"Um, hey?" I spoke gingerly. "Where is everyone?"

"Outside." He answered still not looking up. "Gerald and Phoebe are doing tai chi on the beach, and Rhonda and Nadine are in the backyard with Jake."

"Oh." My heart thudded painfully in my chest at his coldness and the lingering irritation. After a minute of him silently washing the dishes I sighed and nudged him over. "Shove over, football head. I'll wash, you rinse."

Arnold finally smiled at me and I felt the weight in my chest lift a little. We stood side by side, washing dishes together almost domestically. My mind flashed back all the way to fourth grade when I had once again back fired in my plan to entrance Arnold and ended up in a restaurant I couldn't possibly pay to eat at. But that had actually ended happily, with me and my beloved peaceably washing dishes together.

"You thinking about Chez Paris?" Arnold asked lightly as if reading my mind.

"He he, yeah I-" I turned to smile at him and saw his devilish, cheeky grin, and the spray nozzle in his hand. "Arnold! Don't you dare-"

But Arnold just laughed and squeezed the nozzle, releasing a spray of water at me. I shrieked as the cool water drenched me, but laughed as I stuck my hand in the sink and flung water back at him. Arnold laughed as he got drenched and continued spraying water at me.

"Arnold! Quit it!" I shrieked still laughing.

"Make me!" Arnold laughed, still spraying me with the nozzle.

I leapt forward and grabbed the nozzle, but he still clutched it tightly, causing it to spray over both of us. The water drenched us both before I finally thought to reach out and shut off the water from the faucet handle. The spray stopped immediately. Arnold and I stood, dripping wet, and laughing.

"The heck was that for?" I laughed punching him in the shoulder.

"I dunno." Arnold shrugged and grinned. "I just felt like it."

"Well, you owe me some fresh clothes football face." I shook my hair out, thoroughly drenching Arnold in the process.

"Hey!" Arnold laughed. His wet shirt clung to skin and in on motion, he pulled it off. Still laughing, he tossed it to me. "Now you owe me a fresh shirt."

My mouth went dry as Arnold stood before me, bare chested and now smirking. Before I could stop myself, and momentarily forgetting where we were, I reached out and laid a hand flat between his pects, my other hand clenching his shirt tight in my fist. Arnold let out a tiny sound, and moved my hand so it lay directly over his heart. I looked up, shock, to find that he had moved incredibly close to me, his eyes dark green and burning.

At that very moment, Jacob came in from the backyard, and his laughter immediately died on his lips when he saw us. I snatched my hand off of Arnold's chest as if it was burning and tossed his shirt back at him.

"Next time be more careful with that spray nozzle, football head!" I yelled in a panicky voice that probably fooled no one.

But neither guy was looking at me. Jacob was staring at Arnold with an unreadable expression on his face while Arnold smiled smugly at him. He chuckled darkly and draped his wet shirt over his arm (which I could have sworn he was flexing). "Whatever you say, Helga. Whatever you say."


	22. Chapter 22

Goodbye good mood Helga, hello bad mood Helga.

It had taken me a minute, but once my panicked state had subsided, I had realized that Arnold wasn't playfully flirting with me, he had just been trying to get back at Jacob. It was a level of childishness that hadn't expected from him (Jacob was a different story). But what really made me irritated was the fact that they wanted to involve me in their stupid high school drama. I wasn't exactly an expert on dating (or whatever the heck I was doing with Arnold), but even I had some standards. Not wanting to be involved with their crap anymore, I decided to sit on the beach with my music, my piss-off shades, and a murder novel.

Just when my novel was getting good, and my mood was on the edge of improving, a shadow fell across the page.

"You mind?" I asked dryly, not taking my eyes off my book. "There's a reason why I'm out here. _Alone_."

"Funny, Arnold told me the exact same thing." Rhonda snickered. "He seemed to be in a pretty bad mood when I talked to him."

The thought of Arnold being upset brought a brief second of remorse, but I ignored it and went back to reading. Rhonda sighed impatiently and nudged my chair with her food.

"Come on Helga, spill. What exactly is going on between you two?"

I glanced up her and saw that her eyes were bright with curiosity. I slowly set my novel down and gave her the coldest, more biting glare I could manage while I lied through my teeth.

"Absolutely nothing is going on between me and Arnold." I said. "We're just friends."

"Not the way he's been acting," Rhonda said, completely undeterred. "It's soooo obvious. He was totally jealous this morning."

"It's just a stupid macho contest between Arnold and Jacob. I'm just unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of it."

"Yeah well, Arnold and Jacob seem to be pretty serious about it."

"Rhonda!" I finally snapped. "Will you just drop it? I don't care alright? Whatever beef they have going on between them doesn't involve me and I want nothing to do with their stupid games! Because Arnold and I are just friends and that's it."

For a long moment Rhonda went on staring at me, her lips still curled in a knowing smirk. I tried to kept a look of stony annoyance on my face, but inside I terrified that she would see through my bull crap and call me out on it. But finally she shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Oh alright, I guess I'll just leave you alone then," She said in an all too innocent voice. She then looked at me over her shoulder. "I guess then that means you're also not interested in the fact that they're about to have their little rematch right now."

I rolled my eyes and held my book up to my face. "Nope. Not interested."

"Alright," Rhonda continued to walk away. "If you're sure Helga."

"Yep. Totally sure."

"Okay, if you insist."

Rhonda left for the beach house and disappeared out of my sight. I tried to refocus on my book but the image of my dear sweet Arnold going against the brutal Jacob kept going through my mind. Sure Arnold had years in the jungle, but Jacob was the one who had gotten boxing lessons from his dad. The time I was supposed to have been spending teaching Arnold had been spent doing other… things.

"He'll be fine." I mumbled out loud. "Arnold can take care of himself."

Except that he was a lot better at taking care of other people more than himself. And _I've_ never seen him do so much as a karate chop. I groaned and put my book down. My old habit of love and devotion to my beloved football head was kicking in, making me worry about him.

"Football head, you dope." I said standing up and running towards the beach house.

No one was on the beach so I checked the backyard. There, everyone was standing around watching Arnold and Jacob who stood facing each other, each wearing a pair of blue and red boxing gloves. They were glaring at each other like they were longtime enemies. I looked around for Mr. Dolton to put a stop to this idiocy but he was nowhere to be seen. Probably on his cell phone again. When I walked forward into the group Rhonda raised an eyebrow at me and smirked, but other than that no one seemed to notice me.

"Ladies and gentleman," Gerald once again took the role of the announcer, "We are gathered here for the rematch to hopefully end all rematches between Jacob the jerk and my main man Arnold!"

There was only lukewarm applause. The only ones who actually looked invested in this stupid match was Arnold and Jacob. Gerald continued, "The game is boxing. Rules are no biting, no scratching, and no hitting below the belt. And the winner-"

"The winner gets me!" I interrupted stepping forward, smirking as an idea fully blossomed to mind. I took a moment to savor the looks of surprise, especially from Arnold and Jacob. "Gets to fight me that is." Both of their jaws dropped, now they looked really shocked.

"Ooh, looks like this might be interesting after all." Rhonda smirked.

"No, it isn't." Arnold frowned at her and looked at me. "Helga, I'm not going to fight you."

"Um, me neither." Jacob said. "My fight is with Arnold, not you."

"Why not?" I folded my arms and stared them down. "You guys know how much I love a good fight. I call winner."

"You know, a grudge match with Pataki would be interesting." Gerald mumbled but Arnold shot him a look. "No one is fighting Helga, Gerald."

"And why not?" I repeated and moved closer to them both until we were face to face to face. "Whatever stupid little bet you two dopes got going on can't be anything compared with going up with me can it?"

"You have no idea." Jacob mumbled under his breath.

Arnold gave him a warning look then turned to me with a sigh. "Helga, neither of us are going to fight you."

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, no need for two blondes to get their butts kicked."

" _Excuse me!?"_

"Helga, babe," His laughter became nervous and his eyes were fearful. "N-no offense but, I got like 100 lbs on you. I just don't want you getting hurt."

My fist shot out before he could react and connected with his stomach bringing him down to one knee with a pained grunt.

"H-Helga-" He started to lift his hand and I yanked him up before judo-flipping him. Everyone took a few steps back as I turned to Arnold and raised half an eyebrow. "Well? You got anything smart to say Shortman?"

Arnold shook his head and began quickly snatching off his gloves. "Nope. I give. I totally forfeit. You win."

Despite my earlier annoyance, all it took was Arnold groveling before me to bring a smug smile to my lips. "Damn straight, Shortman."

* * *

Needless to say, Jacob was pouting after getting his butt kicked by yours truly. On the bright side, it at least put an end to Jacob and Arnold's squabbling. And since they were no longer fighting all the time, I could finally relax and enjoy my vacation.

Over the next three days it was hours of lounging on the beach by day, hanging out in the house in the afternoon, and movie nights in front of a large screen tv. And every little moment I started to find myself alone, Arnold always managed to find me. He cornered me in the laundry room just to give me soft pecks on the lips or cheeks. When he was feeling mischievous (that or he had a death wish), Arnold would casually brush past me and deliver a swift, hidden pinch to my rear. At night, when everyone else had gone to bed, we texted each other sharing our personal commentary about the day, little jokes, or whatever else we felt like talking about. Except for when Arnold started to sound serious. Whenever I thought that Arnold was about to mention me going to college or anything past next week, I shut my phone off and went to sleep, refusing to bring it up again in the morning. All I wanted to do was focus on the here and now.

This morning had been exceptionally wonderful:

 _While Phoebe was upstairs showering, I sat in the kitchen and fixed a couple of sandwiches for myself and Jacob who was in the living room playing video games with Gerald._

 _"Hey man, you wanna play winner?" Gerald suddenly called out, and my heart sped up knowing who he was talking to._

 _"Sure," My beloved Arnold answered, "Just let me grab a soda real quick."_

 _I forced myself to remain calm as he walked into the kitchen whistling to himself. He went into the fridge, got a soda, and immediately came over to me._

 _"Hey football head," I said nonchalantly. "How's tricks?"_

 _"Still tricky," He chuckled and moved even closer to me._

 _The scent of his body wash wafted over to me and my hands trembled a little. I finished making the sandwiches and finally looked at him. Arnold's expression was soft as he smiled at me and leaned even closer. After a quick glance around to make sure no one was about to walk into the kitchen, I allowed our lips to meet in a quick chaste kiss. As with every other time, electricity shot down to my toes as soon as his lips touched mine. I quickly broke it though before he could deepen it making him pout._

 _"Where's my sandwich woman!?" Jacob yelled impatiently from the living room._

 _"It's about to go up your butt!" I yelled back._

 _I picked up Jacob's sandwich and was about to head into the living room with it, but Arnold pulled me back to him and kissed me hard on the lips._

 _"Wanna go for a walk with me?" He mumbled against my lips. "Maybe cuddle behind the sand dune again? Tomorrow is our last day here."_

 _"Can't. Rhonda roped me and Phoebe into a shopping day with her and Nadine." I sighed. "Then she wants all of us to go to some dance club later to top off vacation."_

 _Arnold's pout came back and he stepped away from me. "Oh alright. I guess I'll let you go then. But I'm claiming a dance at this club later."_

 _"Consider myself claimed." I winked._

 _"Heellggaaaa," Jacob started to whine. "Helgaaaaaa!"_

"Helga, Helga, EARTH TO HELGA!"

I snapped back to reality to find Rhonda waving her manicured hand in my face.

"What?" I snarled and batted her hand away angrily. "What could possibly be so important Rhonda?"

Rhonda pursed her lips and looked away. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

At that very moment the ice cream on the end of my spoon fell and plopped on my bare thigh. I jumped up from the table with a shriek and wiped down my leg with a napkin. The rest of them giggled. Rhonda had convinced Nadine to borrow Jacob's car and drive us to town for a shopping spree. After about three hours of Rhonda buying nearly everything in sight, we stopped by a local ice cream place for something to eat.

"Now where was I?" Rhonda tapped her nails on the table. "Oh right. All the reviews say that this club is the place it be at. And they don't even check IDs."

"Are you sure this club is appropriate for us?" Phoebe asked nervously.

"Rhonda wouldn't go near any place that didn't have the highest standards." Nadine answered for her. "Besides, our vacation is almost over. Let's do something fun before we go back to college applications and jobs."

Phoebe looked at me and I shrugged. "Eh, let's do it. Besides, princess already got us to buy these party dresses. Might as well have an excuse to show them off."

"I guess you're right." Phoebe mused, adjusting her glasses, "Maybe it will be fun."

My phone vibrated just then, indicating that I had a text. I waited until the conversation moved elsewhere before looking at it.

 **A: Miss U. Buy anything cute ; ) ?**

I looked around to make sure no one was watching before texting back a reply. **Maaaybe. Whats it to ya bucko?**

"She's off again." Rhonda said clicking her tongue. "If I didn't know any better, I would say Helga has a secret boyfriend."

My head instantly snapped up and I wiped the smile off my face. All three of them were looking at me and Rhonda had a knowing smirk on her face. "Who are you texting Helga?"

"It's just Jacob." I lied, putting my phone away. "He's such a pain." My phone vibrated again, but this time I ignored it. "What were you saying again Rhonda?"

"Oh I was just saying that I can't wait to meet some mature college gentlemen." She sighed twirling her hair with her finger. "I find high school boys so boring. I still can't believe you're going to keep yours Phoebe."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Gerald and I have a close and loving relationship. Why would I want anyone else? "

"Because it's college! You're supposed to start new things and gain a more sophisticated perspective on life. And taking your boyfriend with you is just not part of it."

"Oh leave her alone Rhonda." Nadine sighed in exasperation. "If Phoebe's happy with Gerald, she doesn't need to break up with him just because they're going to college."

"We've even found a way to go to the same college." Phoebe said triumphantly.

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." Rhonda sighed dramatically. "But if there's one thing I know its relationships." The last part she said looking directly at me. I scowled and flipped her the bird.

After a few more minutes of eating and talking, we gathered up our purchases and headed back to the beach house. The boys were just about to head inside from lounging on the beach all day. When we pulled up in the car they headed over to us and I had to fight the urge to run into Arnold's arms. Phoebe though, wasn't in a secret friends with benefits relationship, and immediately hopped out of the car to give Gerald a kiss.

"So how was girl time?" Jacob asked me, draping a damp arm around my shoulders. "How many time were you close to killing her royal pain in the butt?"

"Too many to count." I chuckled. I glanced around for Arnold but he had already disappeared. "How did things go here?"

"Ugh, boring without you." He groaned. "Your football headed friend and Gerald kept disappearing on me. You sure they're _just_ friends?"

I rolled my eyes and walked away, not even dignifying that with a response. I headed upstairs so I could shower and change before clubbing tonight. Right when I reach me and Pheebs room, I heard a door open and a pair of hands covered my eyes.

"Whether this is Jacob, Arnold, or Gerald, if you don't take your hands off my face I will rupture your spleen." I growled.

"Sorry Helga," Arnold chuckled unapologetically and dropped his hands to my shoulders. "But you still owe me a real kiss."

Before I could warn him that we were _very_ exposed in the hallway, Arnold spun me around and pressed his lips eagerly against mine. I gave a muffled yelp of surprise and protest before giving into the warmth of his lips and returning the kiss. My arm wrapped around his neck to bring him closer and I realized he was still in his swim trunks. I felt my face flame and I roughly pushed him away.

"Geez football head!" I hissed shakily, my heart still pounding. "You trying to get us caught?"

Arnold shrugged, his green eyes twinkling. "You never answered my last text."

"Rhonda was being nosy." I grumbled, picking up the bags I had dropped. "Now what's this I hear about you and Geraldo ditching Jacob all day? You know how sensitive he can be. Not to mention it makes it look like you two have a dirty little secret going on instead of you and me."

At once, Arnold looked away, a slightly guilty expression coming to his eyes. He raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Um, we weren't trying to ditch him. Gerald and I were just talking about some things."

"Oh?" My mouth suddenly went dry. The look on Arnold's face told me that those "some things" were pretty serious things. Was Gerald trying to convince his best friend to stay? Or was he trying to encourage him to go?

"Helga," Arnold's tone became serious as he laid his hands on top of mine. "Do you think that maybe tonight we can find some place to be alone so we can talk?"

I looked into his eyes and the conversation played itself in my mind.

 _'You know that I care about you a lot, Helga,' He would say gently, 'But I was never planning on staying with you. I love it too much in San Lorenzo. I still want us to be friends though and keep in touch with each other. Besides… I, um, sorta left someone behind…'_

"Helga?"

"I should get in the shower." I said quickly pulling my hands away. "See you at the club!"

Arnold looked surprised and opened his mouth to stop me, but I quickly ducked into the room and slammed the door shut.

* * *

 **A/N- Thank you so so much for all the reviews, favs, and follows. If you haven't heard already, a tumblr blog called "shortakiweek" is hosting a week dedicated to ArnoldxHelga running from July 2, 2016 to July 9, 2016. Check it out if you want to participate or know more. I know I'll definitely be participating :)**


	23. Chapter 23

The vacation was drawing to its end so to top it off, Rhonda was going to drag us all to a club sans Mr. Dolton. Everyone was showering and dressing up for the big event. During the shopping trip Rhonda forced us to buy "appropriate" attire which was why I was currently wearing a spaghetti strapped, pink dress with a sweetheart neckline with my hair down is soft waves down my back. Phoebe had assured me that I looked amazing, but that was the furthest thing from my mind right now.

I bit at my thumbnail savagely, anxiety and anticipation churning my stomach. Arnold couldn't be leaving me, he just couldn't. Not after what had been going on between us these past couple weeks he had been here. My beloved could never be so cruel as to make me feel deeply and wonderfully loved only to leave me broken and shattered again. But then again, I was the one who so stupidly told him that we were adults and turned what could have been a beautiful relationship into something casual and meaningless.

And he never said he loved me.

"Way to go Helga," I berated myself. "You could have had Arnold eating out of the palm of your hand but instead you gave him an easy way out."

A soft knock on the door did almost nothing to break me out of my thoughts. It was probably just Gerald looking for his girlfriend.

"Pheeb's still in the shower." I grumbled.

"Get out here, Helga. I need your help." Jacob called from the other side.

I sighed in aggravation but got off of the bed and went to open the door. For a brief moment, genuine surprise made me forget my anxieties. Jacob looked better than I had ever seen him. His messy black hair was neatly combed, his dark blue jeans were free of tatters, and his dark gray dress shirt fit snugly on his muscular body. The only thing not fixed up was his blue tie which was currently untied and draped around his neck. My eyes travelled up to his face and I realized he was staring at me with an awestruck expression on his face.

"W-wow," He breathed, his eyes travelling like mine had. "Helga you look...I mean you're… wow…"

"You're one to talk." I snickered. "Geez Jacob, if you looked like this all the time, I could see why Rhonda was so pissy when you dumped her."

"Rhonda and Nadine ambushed me in my room." Jacob said faintly still staring. He suddenly shook himself and gestured to his neck. "You think you can lend a hand?"

I nodded and leaned up close to him, taking the slip of silk between my hands. The smell of Jacob's cologne made its way to my nose and it was surprisingly subtle and sweet. The tie slipped easily through my fingers as I tied it using one of the many useless skills Olga taught me. Jacob was strangely silent though and when I finished I looked up at him.

"You okay dude?" I asked, having to lean my head back to peer into his face. "If you're sick or something, you don't have to go tonight."

Jacob shakes his head, a small contented smile on his face. "I'm fine, I'm just… thinking about some things."

"Don't hurt yourself." I teased lightly.

Jacob's smile grows and he laughs too. "Only if I stare at you too long, Pataki."

I giggled and roughly pushed him away. "Shut up!"

"Save me a dance?" He asked suddenly, still laughing a little.

I thought for a minute, for some reason I hadn't expected him to ask me of all people for a dance. "Uh, sure. Why not?"

"Cool." Jacob stared at me a moment longer before finally moving away. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Shortly afterwards, everyone was finally ready. If I thought Jacob looked good, Arnold looked absolutely stunning. Black dress pants and dress jacket, and an emerald green dress shirt made him look ravishing to the point my knees grew weak just looking at him. And I could almost assume the feeling was mutual the way his eyes drank me in whenever they turned towards me.

The club itself was loud and lively with just a hint of sophistication and class since it used to be a country club. A bouncer stood guard outside but didn't seem to be checking IDs. Rhonda breezed past him without so much as a self-conscious glance and we hurriedly followed after her. Inside, colorful lights flashed in the ceiling cutting, the floor tiles, and along the DJ stage. A bar selling drinks and food were off to one side and round date-night tables were close by.

Nadine and Rhonda almost instantly snatched up a couple of hot guys and began dancing with them. Jacob headed to the bar where he recognized one of his father's business associates or something. I didn't jump right into dancing right away. I was unfortunately wearing a pair of strappy, high heeled sandals so I had to give my feet time to adjust. So I sat at one of the tables in the dining section with Phoebe while Arnold and Gerald went to go get us some (non-alcoholic) drinks.

"Some club isn't it?" I spoke loud enough to be heard over the music.

"Yes, it's very lively." Phoebe giggled excitedly. Her bright curious glance shifted over my shoulder. "Arnold seems to be quit enjoying himself."

I turned towards the bar and felt an overwhelming sense of heat at Arnold's intense gaze on me. He was leaning against the bar, his body taunt and lean in a way that made me thing of a panther, ready and waiting. Gerald was leaning next to him, clearly carrying on a conversation and Arnold responded, but his eyes remained fixed on me. I suppressed a shiver and turned back around to face Phoebe.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Phoebe gave me a knowing smile and reached out to touch my arm. "Helga, you can tell me the truth. You and Arnold are together again aren't you?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. We met in secret corners to exchange kisses. We spoke to each other in private in a way we didn't speak to other people. We very obviously craved each other's presence and attentions. But we never spoke of love or the future. Arnold never called me his lover or girlfriend. And I never said anything to him.

Phoebe's knowing smile faded as I just sat there.

"Helga," she spoke slowly as if taking to a child, "please tell me that you and Arnold spoke to each other. Please tell me that you aren't just sneaking around without seriously talking."

"Uh…it's kinda complicated…."

Phoebe's hand slipped from my arm and she stared at me like she was able to strangle me right here in front of hundreds of witnesses.

"Sorry that took so long babe," Gerald grinned as he and Arnold walked over, oblivious to the tension surrounding us. "Wanna shake it on the dance floor?"

Phoebe's head snapped towards him so sharply that he flinched and took a half step back. With her momentarily distracted, I quickly jumped up and took Arnold's arm. "Come on, football head, let's have that dance I promised you."

Arnold blinked and barely had time to set his drinks down before I was already dragging him onto the dance floor.

"Was something wrong back there?" He asked glancing back.

"Uh-uh. Nope. Nothing." I refused to turn around, afraid that Phoebe's face will turn me to stone on the spot, and kept moving. When I thought we were far enough away, I spun around to face him. "Now are we going to dance or what?"

Arnold frowned in concern and glanced back again. The music switched to a latin- hip hop fusion and I began to dance with controlled, yet seductive movements. At once Arnold's frown was completely replaced with a smirk and grabbed my waist, pulling my flush against him. Heat broke out over my entire body as we stood frozen, his green eyes staring intently into mine.

"See if you can try to keep up with me this time, Arnoldo." I smirked then pushed away from him.

He grabbed me by the wrist, spun me under his arm and pulled me flush against him again, his dark green eyes burning. "Just watch me."

The music seamlessly melted into a salsa song that I recognized as "Smooth" by Santana. Fate seemed to be favoring me because it was the very song that I had been practicing to in dance class. I let the music take over my body and moved my hips sensually in time with the music. Arnold's eyes darkened to a deep forest green and moved his body with mine, an ever present smirk playing on his lips.

" _Man, it's a hot one  
Like seven inches from the midday sun  
Well, I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone  
But you stay so cool"_

"You look so beautiful," Arnold whispered, his voice low and husky.

I smiled coolly at him. "Don't get used to it, bucko. I only dress like this for special occasions."

Arnold chuckled and twirled me under his arms. My dress spun out revealing my legs before he pulled me back against him, moving our hips together.

" _My muñequita,  
My Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa  
You're my reason for reason  
The step in my groove, yeah."_

Arnold took the lead, my feet moved when his moved, in quick and rapid, then slow and sure steps. My eyes remained locked on his with only his hands clasped around mine to guide me.

" _And if you said, "This life ain't good enough."  
I would give my world to lift you up  
I could change my life to better suit your mood  
Because you're so smooth"_

I gasped as Arnold suddenly lifted me above him. He was so much stronger than I had realized, and there was no strain in his face as he spun in a quick circle before slowly lowering me down again, my body sliding along his. I suppressed a groan as I felt every tight muscle in his body. In the same smooth motion, he slowly dipped me down towards the floor, then pulled me up again slowly.

" _And it's just like the ocean under the moon  
Well, that's the same as the emotion that I get from you  
You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth, yeah.  
Gimme your heart, make it real  
Or else forget about it."_

Arnold's hands dropped to my hips as my arms wrapped around his neck and our feet almost overlapped as we danced, but we never tangled. I pushed him away with a half spin, only to have him yank me back to him. My leg jumped up almost by itself and without even missing a beat Arnold's hand came under my knee and hitched my leg up to rest on his hip. He bent me back in a partial dip before snatching me up against him again.

" _Well, I'll tell you one thing  
If you would leave it'd be a crying shame  
In every breath and every word  
I hear your name calling me out"_

I pushed away from him again, just out of his reach. My feet moved in quick, rapid steps, my hips swayed and twisted in tight circles. His eyes hungrily devoured me, and I smirked as I teased him with my dancing. I let my desire for him speak for itself through my movements.

" _Out from the barrio,  
You hear my rhythm on your radio  
You feel the turning of the world so soft and slow  
Turning you 'round and 'round"_

Arnold grabbed me by the hips roughly pulled me to him so my back was to his chest. I could feel his fingertips leaving bruises as he guided my hips to move against his. My heart pounded in my ears and the blood hissed through my veins. His breath was warm as his lips brushed against my ear.

"Remember that April Fool's Day Dance?" He whispered. "We haven't danced like that in years."

I chuckled and idly palmed the back of his head. "Reliving old memories football head?"

Arnold laughed and spun me around to face him again. "Making them better."

" _And if you said, "This life ain't good enough."  
I would give my world to lift you up  
I could change my life to better suit your mood  
Because you're so smooth"_

We moved with the music, letting it carry our bodies and rule our steps. I spun under his careful arm, feeling his eyes on me the entire time.

" _And it's just like the ocean under the moon  
Well, that's the same as the emotion that I get from you  
You got the kind of loving that can be so smooth, yeah.  
Gimme your heart, make it real  
Or else forget about it"_

Arnold brought me back into his arms, dipped me down, and brought me up again, staring at me intently. The happiness I felt was so intense that my chest actually hurt. I smiled back at him, adoring every curve of his wide head, memorizing every eyelash surrounding his beautiful green eyes.

"Helga," Arnold's voice was deep and serious, "there's something we have to talk about and you can't avoid it forever."

 _Or else forget about it  
Or else forget about it  
Oh, let's don't forget about it  
(Gimme your heart, make it real)  
Let's don't forget about it (hey)  
Let's don't forget about it (no oh no oh)  
Let's don't forget about it (no no no oh)  
Let's don't forget about it (hey no no oh)  
Let's don't forget about it (hey hey hey)..._

My smile faded as the song reached its end and blended with another. An annoyed scowl played on my lips instead. _Way to ruin the mood Arnold._

"Come on," Arnold grabbed my hand and started pulling me away, "Let's go talk outside."

"W-wait, I-" I tried to stammer out an excuse, any excuse not to go outside with him and bring an end to this.

"Mind if I claim my dance now?"

I turned around and felt a wave of relief to see Jacob walking up to us. Arnold however, frowned and his grip on my hand tightened. "Actually Jake, Helga and I were just leaving. So if you don't mind-"

"Hold on a sec, football head." I said, quickly pulling my hand out of his. "I did promise Jacob a dance. Besides, we didn't come here to just stand around talking."

Arnold narrowed his eyes. "Helga-"

"Relax, Arnoldo, it's just one dance."

I gave him a dismissive wave and pulled Jacob with me into the crowd. The music had become upbeat with a hint of techno. Jacob and I danced close together, and while there was no electric heat between us like there had been with Arnold, but it was comfortable and nice.

"What the heck was that about?" Jacob laughed as we danced. "The guy acts like you two are still together or something."

"Heh, heh, yeah." I chuckled lamely. "He's, um, protective."

Jacob scoffed and rolled his eyes. "More like possessive. Someone should really give that poor kid the memo that you two are past tense."

My lips thinned into a line in an attempt to hold back my response. Anything I said to Jacob would be most certainly used against me later. He didn't seem to notice my change in attitude though and the music was loud enough to discourage conversation anyway. Jacob seemed perfectly happy dancing without talking anymore. He kept smiling at me like an idiot and after a while I couldn't stop myself from smiling either. It was just that effect Jacob always had on me. No matter how irritating, annoying, or jerky he was, Jacob was always able to make me smile and have a good time.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me into their arms. "Hey! Hands off buddy-" I stopped when I looked up and realized that it was my beloved who had grabbed me.

"Sorry Jake," Arnold smirked at Jacob's surprised face, "But I think I'll be reclaiming Helga again."

"Who said we were done dancing, Shortman?" Jacob grabbed my other arm with a forced, polite smile.

"I'll dance with you sexy." A busty brunette slurred and practically threw herself into Jacob's arm, causing him to let go of my arm so they both wouldn't fall over. Arnold took the opportunity to sweep me away.

"Really Arnoldo?" I laughed. "I barely danced with him for five minutes."

"Three minutes was too long." Arnold grouched. "And his hands were all over you."

"Oh like yours weren't?" I scoffed.

Arnold's lips pulled back into a seductive smirk that had me weak at the knees. The hand at the small of my back purposely trailed down until it lightly brushed against my backside. "Are you saying you didn't like it?"

I giggled and blushed like a seventeen-year-old. "I'm not quit saying that."

"Good." Arnold removed his hand from my backside making me pout, but instead he wrapped his arms around me and held me close until our noses brushed. "Because I don't plan on stopping anytime soon."

* * *

Unfortunately, even in the middle of my perfect bliss, nature eventually called. I did my business as fast as I could in the surprisingly clean bathroom, and was washing my hands when Phoebe came in.

"Helga. Don't move." She said sternly as soon as she saw me.

I should have been cowering in the wake of her rarely shown anger, but I couldn't stop smiling even if I wanted to. "Sup Pheebs, how's your night going?"

"Oh, it's going just dandy," Phoebe said sarcastically, still frowning at me intently. "Except that I'm too busy worry that my best friend is doing something ludicrous that might be completely irrevocable and permanently damage her emotional state!"

Phoebe's voice had risen in volume by the end of her tirade, causing a couple of girls to scatter from the restroom. I felt my temper rise a little at the tone she was taking but forced myself to count to three before speaking.

"Pheebs," I said slowly, "I'm not nine anymore and I'm not thirteen. I told you that I know what I'm doing with Arnold and I was right. Things are different between us now, and everything is right."

"It is?" Phoebe's entire body language changed as she relaxed and let out a sigh of relief followed by a small laugh. "Helga, I must say you had me worried for a minute there. So what did you two say to reconcile your relationship?"

"Well," I rolled my shoulders and found I couldn't look at her again. "It wasn't so much anything that was said. But you should have seen how he danced with me. There was so much passion and so much heat between us."

Phoebe's smile fell and the look in her eyes returned. "Helga."

"And you should have seen the way he pulled me away from Jacob. It was so obvious how jealous he was-"

"Helga, you're getting carried away-"

"And okay, okay, I kept this from you, but we've been having this thing in secret-"

"Helga, you have to stop-"

"And the way he kissed me Phoebe! There's no way there isn't anything between us!"

"He's leaving in two days!" Phoebe suddenly yelled, grabbing my arms. "I overheard him and Gerald talking and he's leaving the day after we get back!"

The ground disappeared. Time stopped. The blood in my veins was suddenly replaced with ice slush. I stared at Phoebe's livid face dumbly, waiting for my brain to catch up with the rest of reality. Phoebe suddenly gasped and snatched her hands off of my shoulders.

"H-Helga, I'm-"

The rest of her words were lost as I stormed out of the bathroom, sending a couple of clubbers fleeing in my wake. My face and body felt hot, my heart hammered in my chest. I had to find Arnold, hear it from him that he wasn't leaving me. A voice screamed in my head that it couldn't be true, wouldn't believe it was true. And once I found Arnold-

I spotted him over by our table with Gerald and immediately headed over. They didn't notice me and as I got closer I could start to hear their conversation.

"So man," Gerald said. "You tell Helga yet?"

"Nah, haven't had time to yet." Arnold sighed.

My steps slowed as a smile grew on my face. This was it, my beloved was about to tell Gerald how he had planned on surprising me with the good news that he's staying, but that I had stupidly thwarted all of his attempts.

"Dude, you do realize that Helga might flip out on you right? She's gonna be pissed."

"Yeah, why do you think I was trying be so romantic during these past three days? I was hoping to make things easier for her."

The icy sludge came back with a vengeance as an icy hand gripped my heart. Arnold was leaving. Arnold was leaving. He had been loving and seductive and attentive in order to make things easier for me when he left. Because Arnold was leaving.

A choked sob escaped my lips and suddenly I was running. My throat jerked painfully and my eyes burned and blurred with tears. Suddenly, I stumbled and my knees hit sand. The tears raced down my cheeks as my vision cleared and I realized that I had somehow managed to run out of the club.

 _Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving._ _Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving._ It was like my brain was on a loop and I distantly wondered if I had cracked.

"H-Helga, just calm down." I whispered hoarsely. "Just move, walk, do something before someone sees you like this."

It took a minute for my brain to process the order, but eventually I rose to my feet and began walking down the beach.

 _Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving._ _Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving._ _Arnold is leaving. Arnold is leaving._

"I'm- I'm not going to let him." I declared weakly. "I need- I need to figure out some way to convince him to stay."

I thought back to all the conversations we had since he came back. We seemed to talk about everything except him staying. But then my mind went back to a conversation we had when we first hung out together. When I asked him how long he planned on staying in Hillwood, he had said it depends, but never on what. If I could just find out a way to convince him to stay-

My phone began ringing, and I fumbled it out of my bag that I had grabbed when I went to the bathroom. When the caller ID read Arnold, I immediately declined the call. He called again seconds later which I declined too. But when Jacob's number came up I answered.

"Hey hell-girl where are you?" He asked immediately.

"Walking." I answered. My voice sounded hallow and distant to my own ears. "I'll be back at the beach house late. Don't wait up for me okay?"

"Did that Arnold kid do or say something to you?" Jacob's voice was suddenly low and dangerous. "Because I'll kick his ass if he hurt you."

 _Can you kick his ass for trying to break my heart again?_ "Jake. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"Whoa! You just called me Jake. Are you sure you're okay?"

 _No. Not if he leaves me._ "I'm good Jake. See you later."

I then hung up my phone and kept walking. I needed no distractions while I tried to think of a way to convince Arnold to stay. A thought instantly came to mind, but I pushed it away again. It was too risky, too brash of a move even for me. But as soon as it was out of my mind, it found its way in again.

"No," I shook my head to clear it. "There has to be another way."

So I kept walking and decided to keep walking, even if I had to walk all night.

* * *

I arrived back at the beach house hours later, my feet throbbing and my head buzzing. The cars were back in the driveway and all the lights were out meaning that everyone was home and probably in bed already. I used the key I had to let myself in as quietly as I could. Just like I thought the whole house was dark and quiet. I had long since finished crying as I crept up the stairs. The inside of my head felt like cotton. Arnold couldn't be so cruel as to make me fall in love with him all over again just to leave me. After all, I was the one who made everything open ended between us.

Instead of going to mine and Phoebe's room, my feet carried me to Arnold's room. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. My beloved was just on the other side, probably asleep and dreaming of returning to San Lorenzo. A single tear traced down my cheek but I quickly brushed it away. During my walk, the one thing I had managed to figure out was myself. I was a Pataki, Helga Geraldine Pataki to be exact, and when we wanted something we took it, and we too strong to back down from a challenge.

My fist shot out and knocked rapidly on his door. There was only a brief moment of silence before the door suddenly opened revealing Arnold in pajama pants and a t-shirt. His eyes went wide when he saw me and I realized how crazy I must have looked from walking on the beach for hours.

"Helga!" He hissed sounding both angry and relieved. "Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick over you!"

"Arnold." My voice came out harsher than I expected. "I need to talk to you alone. And no, this can't wait til morning."

Arnold immediately pulled me inside his room and closed the door behind him. "I couldn't agree more, Helga."

He came back over to stand in front of me. I looked up at him and felt tears of anger and sorrow begin to well up again. Arnold was so tall and so handsome and oblivious to my feelings despite his kind hearted and discerning nature. His green eyes softened as he took me in.

I took a deep breath to steel my nerves and decided to execute the most dangerous and risky thing I will ever do.

"Helg-mnph!"

I sealed my lips over Arnold's, effectively cutting him off. He melted into the kiss and began to wrap his arms around me, but I stepped out of his reach. Before I could change my mind or before reason could settle into my exhausted brain, I reached behind me to snag down the zipper of my dress and let it fall off my body.

Arnold went wide eyed and rigid as he stared at me in nothing but my underwear. The cold air wrapped around my body, raising goosebumps on every inch of my exposed skin.

"H-Helga," Arnold finally managed to gasp out. "What are you doing?"

"Convincing you to stay," I whispered before leaning up to kiss him again.

Our lips meet for a moment before Arnold's hands landed on my hips and forced me away from his body. But not before I had felt him respond.

"Helga," His voice came out shaky and his eyes searched my face intently, "Are you drunk, or buzzed, or in any way inebriated right now?"

I shook my head and pressed my body to his, holding his eyes with my own. I needed to convey to him how desperately I needed him, how much we needed each other. Arnold groaned as a shudder passed through his body and his eyes turned dark green. One of his hands left my hips to cradle the back of my neck and pulled me in to a desperate and hungry kiss. I maintained out lip lock as I backed us toward the bed.

"Wait, wait," Arnold tried to plead as my lips went down the column of his neck. I bit down sharply, releasing a cry of both pain and pleasure from his lips.

"I want you." I said simply, looking at him from under my eyelashes. "I-I need you. I need you to be with me."

For a minute Arnold was silent and I was terrified that my plan had backfired and Arnold would be lost to me forever. Tears began to fill my eyes but then Arnold's expression suddenly changed and he ducked his head down to recapture my lips with his. It was now my turn to moan in surprise as his tongue entered my mouth and tangled with mine. The back of my calves hit the bed and then suddenly my back was on the mattress and Arnold's body was pressing against mine.

* * *

 **Sorry for the cliff hanger-ish ending, but this chapter was getting lengthy and I'm not really good at writing lemons. This story isn't over though so thank you everyone who'se been readind and reviewing so far. If there are any grammer mistakes I'll come back and edit later**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N- I was going to save this for later this week but after that cliffhanger I couldn't help myself. Thank you so much for all the feedback and criticisms, you guys are the reason I write.**

* * *

I wasn't so desperate to think that I could keep Arnold with me through the act of sex alone. But I knew I hadn't imagined the passion between us when we danced both at Rhonda's party and at the club. And I knew that I hadn't imagined the way his eyes grew intense when he stared at me. So if Arnold was going to try and pretend that things could just go back to normal and casual between us, I was going to prove him wrong. I was tired of playing these stupid games with Arnold. Mere words weren't enough to convey how deeply and passionately I loved him and I wanted more from him than even heartfelt words.

My entire body hummed with electricity as my back hit the mattress and Arnold fell on top of me. His hands roamed every inch of my exposed skin making me writhe underneath him. I hungrily devoured his lips with my own, sure that I could bring out the passion that I knew lay behind his gentleman façade. Sure enough, a low and sexy growl emitted deep from Arnold's throat and he ducked his head down to find my collar bone.

"I need you." I panted heavily. " _Quench this fire within me that you have ignited with your soul so true/ Let our spirits be united as our hearts duel."_

Arnold moaned deeply. "I love it when you quote poetry to me. You're so amazing and brilliant Helga."

My smile evaporated into a gasp when I felt his hands fondle my chest and his lips worked lower than my collarbone.

"I wish we could have done this under more romantic circumstances," Arnold mumbled against my skin as he undid my bra. "But you light the fire in my soul too. And you've always driven me to do the craziest things."

"Stop talking." I growled and pulled his face back up to my lips.

* * *

Arnold's strong arms cradled my body as we moved against and with each other. His lips devoured my neck and jaw as his whispered endearments into my ear. My nails raked down his back as every muscle in my body tensed and my limbs trembled. Our throaty moans met the open air along with our heavy breathing. My name became a whispered mantra on his lips, a promise and a prayer. Our worlds combined, imploded, and exploded until there was nothing left but brilliant, shimmering stars and the world slowly faded to black.

* * *

The first rays of sunlight gave Arnold's room a soft yellow-pink glow. I woke up to his warm and toned chest pressing against my back. Our legs were still tangled together and his arms held me tightly to him. There was no question this time, no possibilities that this was just a dream. I shifted a little bringing immediate attention to the soreness between my legs. I grunted a little in discomfort even as a smile flitted across my lips. No matter what the circumstances that brought us to this, Arnold and I made love last night. Not just sex, not just desperately screwing each other's brains out, but sweet, endearing love making.

Right now, as I lay in his arms, feeling his warm breath on my neck, there was no doubt in my mind that there was something special between us. Even if my heart hurt in a few hours when we parted, it had felt whole last night and it felt whole now. I didn't care how crazy or desperate I had acted in the past, the way Arnold made me feel last night made it worthwhile. And if in a few days I had to cement my the pieces of my heart back together and move forward with my life with a stone face on, then at least I had the memory of last night to make my dreams a little sweeter.

 _Please,_ I closed my eyes against the sudden onslaught of tears, _please Fate, Father Time, whoever is up there, please let time stop right now. Let me feel this way for a little while longer._

But suddenly, Arnold began to stir with a sleepy, contented sigh and his grip on me tightened. I tried to remain still, hoping that he'd fall back asleep again, but he began to move more and his lips danced along my neck.

"Good morning, beautiful." He whispered, kissing the shell of my ear. "Did you sleep well? How are you feeling? Did you need me to, um, get you anything?"

I laughed despite the tears still threatening to spill onto my cheeks. Leave it to my Arnold to wake up trying to make sure I was okay. I quickly wiped my face on the pillow before rolling over to face him. Arnold's nose brushed against mine and he smiled lovingly, reaching out to caress my face. His hair was messier than usual and his sparkled with love and adoration.

"You're so beautiful in the morning." He whispered. "I wish I could wake up next to you like this every morning."

My eyes went wide with shock and my heart stopped. But then I closed my eyes with a groan. "I knew it. I knew this was too good to be true. I'm definitely having a very vivid wet dream."

Arnold laughed out loud and when I opened my eyes he was still there, laughing heartedly. "You think you're dreaming? Am I really that amazing, Helga?"

I frowned and opened my mouth to give him a sarcastic answer, but the truth came out instead. "Yes, actually. Wanna make something of it?"

Arnold's laughter died down and instead of answering me, he pulled me into his arms and kissed me deeply on the mouth. I was stunned into stillness for a moment before my body melted and I was ready to give into him all over again.

"Mmph, wait a minute! I have a surprise for you." Arnold broke our kiss and was grinning like an idiot as he slipped out of the bed. He rummaged through his luggage for a moment before he finally pulled out a large, square envelope and brought it back into bed.

"Here." Arnold grinned bashfully and handed it to me. "It's for you."

"Uh…" I stared at the envelope dumbly and then stared at Arnold. "What?"

"Don't just sit there, open it." Arnold looked both eager and nervous.

I was completely lost as to what was going on. Wasn't Arnold supposed to be telling me that he was leaving tomorrow? But I obediently opened the already opened envelope and took out the thick off-white paper inside.

My brain slowed to a complete stop after I read the first paragraph. The words "accepted", "advanced literary program", and "full scholarship" seemed to vibrate on the page, but I didn't seem to be able to process what they meant. Part of me was still waiting for Arnold to tell me he was leaving. College was literally the furthest thing from my mind.

"Helga…" Arnold said cautiously. "You aren't mad are you? Because Gerald said that you would be pissed when you found out about this."

"What?" I snapped my head to look at him.

"He, he, yeah." Arnold blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "He tried talking me out of it. He said that you would be pissed if you found out that me and Brainy applied for you. Did you know that Brainy could hack into computers and found some of your old poems from the school's servers? Anyways, I kept trying to surprise you, but you never gave me the chance to-"

I immediately clamped my hand over his mouth, maybe a little too hard, but I honestly couldn't help it. My brain was now practically overheating with the effort to put all of the pieces together.

"This is the big secret?" I finally manage to say. "This is what you were trying to tell me about? And not… something else?"

Arnold shakes his head and gently removes my hand from his mouth. "Yeah. Like I said Gerald thought it would be a bad idea since you didn't even seem to want to go to college. But," Arnold sighed and his gaze became loving and adoring, "Helga, you're so smart, and such a talented writer, and just talented and amazing in general and when you put your mind to something I know that nothing could stop you."

Tears filled my eyes and spilled onto my cheeks. How could I ever for a moment doubted how Arnold felt about me? It wasn't just about stupid college. Arnold's brilliant green eyes were looking at me like I was the only person in the world who mattered to him.

"Helga," Arnold looked at me in concern and ran his fingers through my hair. "You okay?"

"Oh Arnold!" I cried and tackled him onto the bed again.

* * *

An hour later I tried to slip out of bed only to have Arnold wrap his arm around my waist and pull me in again.

"Don't go," He whined kissing my shoulder. "Staaaay."

I giggled and craned my head to kiss his nose. "I can't. I need a shower."

He gave me a peck on the lips. "Shower here."

"I don't want anyone to see me still in this dress."

"Wear my clothes."

"Don't you think they'd be a little _short_ for me?"

Arnold nipped my shoulder, making me yelp and jump out of bed. "And just for that. I'll be leaving now." I stuck my tongue out at him and slipped my dress on.

"Aww, but-"

"I'll see you at breakfast okay?" I smiled at him and picked up my shoes. "Besides, I still have to pack."

"Oh okay," Arnold pouted but there was a happy twinkle in his eyes. "See you at breakfast."

The smile refused to leave my face as I crept out of Arnold's room and into the hallway. I could hear a shower running in one room but other than that the house was still quiet. I made my way down the hall to my room, slipped inside before anyone could spot me, and shut the door with a soft click.

"Mm, Helga?" Phoebe groaned from the bed. "Is that you?"

"The one and only." I yawned and began hunting around for some clothes. My fantasies were starting to shift from Arnold to a nice hot shower.

"Oh Helga," Phoebe's voice clogged as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."

I waved my hand dismissively still hunting for clothes. "You have no reason to be. Everything between me and Arnold-"

"I lied."

I frowned and stopped what I was doing to look at her. "You lied? About what?"

"About- about overhearing Arnold telling Gerald he was leaving!"

All at once the oxygen seemed to disappear from the room. My mouth opened but no sound came out.

"I lied." Phoebe continued. "I didn't overhear them say anything about Arnold leaving. I just wanted to push you into confronting him. Had I'd known you would leave and be out on the beach last night I would have never-"

"I slept with him."

Phoebe jerked as if I had slapped her. "You- you what!?"

"I slept with him!" I yelled furiously. "I felt crazy and desperate so I slept with him! I risked everything and threw away all common sense all because my best friend LIED TO ME!"

I knew that it wasn't Phoebe's fault, I made the choice to risk having sex with Arnold, but that didn't take away the sense of betrayal I felt. My best friend, the one person I trusted most in the world, even more than Arnold, had lied to me. Even worse, she had chosen the one thing she knew would hurt me the most and it worked.

"I was trying to help you!" Phoebe's expression was furious but tears ran down her cheeks. "You were too stubborn and childish to-"

In two quick seconds I was standing directly over her, our furious faces mere inches from each other.

"Stop trying to run my life." I growled. "I'm a grown woman, and I can make my own decisions alright?"

"Because you were making such great ones now?" Phoebe snapped.

My hand twitched and for a strong moment I seriously thought I was going to slap her across the face. But instead, I forced my feet to carry me into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. A few minutes later I heard the bedroom door open and close too.

* * *

 **A/N- Not the end. Still more to go but I guess you can say that things are starting to wind down. Thanks for all the reviews and fav and feedback guys. They mean a lot**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N- Sorry for the long delay, still preparing for Shortaki Week.**

Hot, nearly scalding water poured down over me and mixed with my tears as I sat huddled in the shower. There was a small part of me that knew in some small way that Phoebe was right. If I hadn't been such a coward and faced my situation like she had told me to, then who knows how far our relationship could have gone. Ignoring our relationship hadn't been the mature thing to do, it had been the stupid thing and immature thing to do. But that didn't change the fact that my best friend, the one person that I trusted more than anyone in the world had lied to me in order to manipulate me. Was I just supposed to forget that because she was right?

A knock on the bathroom door startled me. Was Phoebe coming to apologize or chew me out more?

"Helga?" Arnold's voice called instead. "Helga are you okay?"

"Arnold!?" I shrieked and jumped up so fast that I nearly slipped on the wet tiles.

Oh cruel yet wonderful fate to send me my angel in my lowest hour. Arnold was the man I wanted to impress the most with my maturity, not let see me at my weakest. I scrambled to turn the water off and pulled on my robe.

"What do you want football head?!" I snapped. My voice sounded thick even to my own ears. "In case the running water didn't clue you in, I was trying to take a shower here!"

I was blustering so that he wouldn't be able to tell how upset I was, but of course he see right through it.

"Helga," Arnold said my name with such firm gentleness that new tears sprung to my eyes. "Tell me what's going on. You sound like you're crying."

I sighed and leaned my forehead against the door. It was exhausting to keep everything in all the time, but this was more than a delicate situation.

"I um, got into a fight with Phoebe." I mumbled finally. "We… had a different opinion on how to handle something. Phoebe did something that upset me and I said some things that upset her back."

"What kind of things?" He asked gently.

I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. What could I say? We got into a fight because I couldn't tell Arnold that I had feelings for him? That I played mind games with him to keep him close without committing or risk my own heart? Or better yet, that I slept with him out of desperation because Phoebe lied about him leaving?

"I can't tell you." I mumbled miserably.

There was silence on his side for a while and I wondered if he had gone away. But then I heard him sigh.

"Can you come out?" He asked softly. "It's hard for me to work my 'fix everything with kindness' powers on you when there's a door between us."

A small laugh escaped me even as tears slipped down my eyes. The temptation to cry in my beloved arms was too much for even me to resist. Making sure my robe was securely fastened and I didn't look too much a crying mess, I finally stood up and opened the door. Arnold stood on the other side, a gentle and loving smile on his lips. He held his arms to me and I just lost it. A fresh round of sobs broke through my throat and I nearly knocked Arnold down running into his arms. He teetered for a moment but held me firmly in his arms, rubbing soothing circles on my back with his fingertips.

"There, there," He whispered. "Everything will be okay. I'm sure you two can work things out."

"But I messed up so badly." I pushed him away and started pacing. "I can't even tell you what I did because you'd probably never speak to me again. I've been so stupid lately that I barely recognize myself. Without Phoebe I have no one to talk to and you would hate me if you knew the truth!"

Arnold placed his hands firmly on my shoulders to get me to stop and looked me in the face. "That's not true. You can tell me anything. I could never hate you."

"You would." I groaned. "Because right now I hate me."

"Well you shouldn't." Arnold gave my shoulders a firm shake. "Helga, whatever mistake you made I'm sure it's not nearly as bad as you think it is."

I bit my lip, feeling the walls of my resolve start to crumble. Why could he always do that to me? Just one look and I wanted to confess everything to him.

"Arnold, I-"

"Helga, are you in there? I wanted to talk to you about something." The door suddenly opened and Jacob was right there staring at me and Arnold. It was like déjà vu. Jacob popping up out of nowhere while Arnold and I were in a compromising position, but this time I was the one who was barely dressed. But this time, Jacob's face immediately turned livid.

"What the hell you creep!?" Jacob stormed over to Arnold and yanked him away from me. "Now you're trying to creep on her while she's getting dressed? What are you some sick pervert!?"

"And just what the hell do you think you're doing here?" Arnold yelled back. "Why are you just coming into my girlfriend's room without knocking first?"

 _Girlfriend!?_ My jaw dropped and I stared at Arnold in shock for using the most potent word so easily. Arnold wasn't even looking at me though, instead he stared at Jacob with a mixture of triumph and anger. But then Jacob scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You wish, kid." He growled, his glare darkening.

"It's the truth." Arnold grabbed for my hand and held it, even though it was still limp from shock. "Helga and I are back together Jake, and as her _boyfriend_ I would appreciate it if you would leave now. My _girlfriend_ isn't exactly decent right now."

Jacob was silent for a minute and I found myself growing anxious waiting for his reaction. Honestly I expected him to laugh and begin taunting me, but the silence dragged on until Jacob's eyes went to my face. I stared back at him for a moment and then finally gave the tiniest nod of confirmation. Then to my surprise, Jacob groaned and looked pained for a moment before giving Arnold a murderous look.

"I should kick your ass for leading her on," Jacob said, taking a menacing step towards him, "but I'm sure Helga will do that for me."

Arnold's hand gripped mine harder to the point where it was beginning to hurt. He stepped up to Jacob, pulling me a little behind him.

"I'm not leading her on, Jake." Arnold said firmly.

"Oh yeah? Then how do you explain this?"

Jacob then pulled an envelope out of his pocket and Arnold immediately paled. He tried to snatch it out of his hand but Jacob gave him a hard shove, knocking him onto the ground.

"Jake!" I snapped. "What the hell is your problem!?"

"I'm not the one with the problem, Helga." Jacob's voice suddenly softened and he looked at me with something akin to pity. "Don't think I haven't noticed how you've been acting around him lately. But before you go sailing off into the sunset with him, you should know he's a liar."

With that, Jacob held out the envelope to me, expecting me to take it. I stared at with a weird, twisted feeling in my stomach like I was about to open Pandora's box or something. My fingers trembled as I put my finger under the unglued flap and lifted it.

"Helga, wait!" Arnold jumped up with a panicked look on his face. "Before you open that, I can explain."

"Don't let him, Helga!" Jacob cut him off. "He'll just lie or explain it away. You need to see it for yourself and you'll know."

"Helga, please."

"Helga, look at it!"

"Helga, don't!"

"Helga!"

"Both of you, shut up!" I screamed and decisively opened it.

At first, my eyes didn't seem to be able to see what it was. But then slowly, the words "San Lorenzo" and "One Way" came into focus. The plane ticket began to tremble in my fingers as shame, humiliation, hurt, and anger all competed for dominance. This wasn't some phony, it was authentic. It was real.

"Helga," Arnold said slowly. "Please, I know this looks bad, but-"

"The ticket says one way, Arnold. I think it's clear what it is." Jacob said firmly.

"Get out." My voice was barely even a whisper. "Both of you, get out."

"Helga." Arnold's expression was hurt but still determined. "Just please let me explain-"

"EXPLAIN!?" The dam behind my eyes broke and my voice exploded out of my throat at top volume. "Explain that you're a liar!? That you used me for your enjoyment!?"

Arnold made a move towards me, but I shoved him and his ticket away.

"Don't touch me!" I shrieked. My entire body trembled with outrage and I couldn't stop screaming. "I can't believe I ever trusted you! Was this all just some sick, twisted game!? Was I just someone to mess with until you went back home!? Was I just your screw buddy until you got back to your real girlfriend!?"

"Helga," Arnold's voice became thick as he continued to stare me down. "You need to stop and listen to me before you say something you regret."

But it was too late for me to stop. Everything that I went through, all the emotional turmoil, fighting with Phoebe, and losing my virginity, flashed before me and made me sick to my stomach.

"I can't believe that I ever gave myself to you." I cried. "I hate you Arnold. I hate you!"

Arnold's face looked shocked and unbelieving and then it trembled and became angry.

"You hate me!?" He snapped incredulously. "I should be the one hating you! You're the one who took me on this emotional roller coaster! You're the one who continually played and toyed with me like it was some sick game!"

"Don't blame her!" Jacob started to step in front of me, but Arnold pushed him out of the way.

"No I'm going to say this to her." Arnold kept his eyes on me, his expression furious and hurt. "All I've ever done Helga, is want to get close to you again, but every time I tried, you pushed me away. I tried to respect that, but then you started to lead me on again."

"I lead you on!?" I snapped.

"Yes, you did!" Arnold yelled back, "Every time you kissed me, you lead me on. Every time you agreed to be alone with me, you lead me on. When you came into my room last night, you did that by the way, you definitely lead me on. And now you call me a liar and don't let me explain myself!?"

"There's nothing you could possibly explain about this Arnold." I said darkly. "It's a one-way ticket to San Lorenzo which means you aren't planning on coming back or taking me with you."

"Or could it possibly mean that I need to get my citizenship and birth records in order so I can stay in Hillwood for good. For you." Arnold said firmly.

Once again, my world flipped and my stomach cramped. I bit the inside of my cheek so hard that I tasted blood.

"Arnold…I..."

"Save it." Arnold shook his head and pushed past me, heading to the door. "I'm done Helga. I'm done with your emotional up and downs. I'm done you acting like you want to be with me one minute, and then acting like you want nothing to do with me the next. And I'm done with you expecting me to do everything and that still not being good enough. I'm just… done."

Arnold didn't even give me a second glance as he left the room. He just left me, standing there, more tears than I even knew I had falling from my eyes.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N- Thank you to everyone who are still reading this roller coaster of a story. I know that you guys may not have agreed with all of the decisions I made with this story and with these characters but regardless I hope you enjoyed the thrill of finding out what could possibly happen next. But this is the final chapter and all that's left is the epilogue.**

* * *

To say I was miserable would be an understatement. I was catatonic. A void of my own making had opened up underneath me and it was of my own doing. Back at home it was all I could do to keep myself moving every day. Because of my own stupid, stupid decisions I had lost my best friend, the old love of my life, and probably ruined any chance I had at having any kind of stable relationship. It was like I had fallen beyond square one. I was nineteen years old for goodness sake and I behaved worse than a child. I tried to keep Arnold at a friendly arm's distance and when I felt myself falling for him, I let my insecurities bluster me into crazy thoughtless actions and took out my frustrations on the one person who was trying to help me. I didn't deserve such a good friend like Phoebe so I didn't even bother showing my face around her. I especially didn't allow myself a second thought about Arnold. There was only one person I actually talked to once I got back from the beach house, and after three days, I was ready to strangle him.

"Uh hellooo, hell girl?" Jacob waved his hand in front of my face for the fifth time in the past hour. "You awake or what?"

I blinked myself out of my all-consuming miserable thoughts and looked at him groggily. We were sitting in his apartment with a junk food spread before us and wrestling on the tv. The one and only reason that I was here instead of lying in bed was because he kept pestering me to hang out with him and wouldn't leave me alone until I did.

"What Jake?" I mumbled. "What could you possibly want now?"

Jacob frowned. "What do I want? I want you to stop acting like a zombie. It's been like a whole week since you fought with that guy. I thought you'd be over him by now."

I sighed and wrapped my arms around myself. I had given up days ago telling Jacob that my mood wasn't just about fighting with Arnold. It was about everything I went through to skirt around the long buried issues I've had nearly my entire life. I thought I grew up and grew out of them, but turns out I was just the same old Helga I had always been except with more drama and stupidity.

"Ugh, you're doing it again!" Jacob groaned in frustration and grabbed my shoulders. He then roughly turned me to face him and looked at me with a mixture of annoyance and concern. "What in the world did the Arnold kid do to you? What makes him so special that he can make you feel this way about yourself?"

I rolled my eyes even as my stomach twisted. "I told you a hundred times this isn't just about Arnold. It was never just about Arnold. It was about me okay? Me!" Tears filled my eyes and I turned away to swipe at them, "I always mess things up when they start to get uncomfortable or serious. And I hate it. I hate that I let my insecurities get to me and make me do crazy things. I hate that I feel crazy all the time. I hate that I'm nineteen and I've never had a boyfriend because I've always been too afraid of getting hurt, or falling too hard, or- Mmph!"

My rant was cut off by Jacob suddenly turning me roughly to him and crashing his lips against mine. The free flowing tears seemed to freeze from the pure shock of the situation happening. Short circuits began going off in my brain as I tried to process what was happening. As I did though, I realized a few things. The first thing I realized was how good of a kisser Jacob was, but oddly enough, from a purely academic standpoint. There was no fire, no electricity coursing through my veins, just a vague notice of how soft his lips were. Second, the sudden realization hit me that Jacob most definitely had feelings for me outside of close friendship. It should have been obvious honestly in retrospect. The bickering with Arnold, constantly getting handsy with me, it was all stuff I would have done if I was jealous of someone else who liked the same person I did. And finally, the last thing I realized was that I didn't want this. Even as a good looking guy who shared the same interest as me, kissed me long and deep, all I could think about was how stupid I acted over these past weeks.

I put my hands on Jacob's shoulders and after giving it another second's thought, I pushed him away.

"I'm sorry, Jake." I whispered. "I-I just can't do this with you. I'm sorry but I can't."

"Really?" Jacob's face fell and for a moment I felt bad for him. Until the next words came out of his mouth. "You're really still hung up on Arnold?"

My eyes went wide and I jumped up, an angry flush coming to my face. "How many times do I have to tell you that this isn't about Arnold!? Can't I just feel bad for how I acted!? Can't I just regret acting like a child!? Can't I just regret losing my best friend!? Can't I just regret handling things the wrong way!?"

Jacob was silent for a moment, just staring at me in confusion. Finally he sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry, maybe I'm just slow but why does any of that matter? Sure you screwed up things with Arnold, but you have me. I'll be the boyfriend that he never was to you. Isn't that what you want? A guy to really appreciate and care about you?"

"…No."

Jacob looked taken aback and to be honest, I was a little surprised myself. All of this started because I didn't think Arnold could feel the same way about me right? Because I didn't think I deserved a second chance with him right? But here was Jacob, a good looking older guy that I got along great with who actually had romantic feelings for me, and yet… I didn't want him to be my boyfriend.

"No." I repeated. "Getting a boyfriend was not what this was about. It was about me and how I acted."

Jacob gave another groan and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked pained and hurt and my heart went out to him, but I couldn't exactly help him either.

"I still don't understand Helga." He said quietly. "I don't think I understand…you."

A small rueful smile came onto my lips as I shrugged. "Join the club, Jake."

* * *

After all that I couldn't very well stay and my mind was still a tangled mess so I declined Jacob's offer of driving me home and I chose to walk instead. My heart thumped heavily in my chest and my stomach felt like it was full of ice water. The easy thing would have been to accept Jacob's feelings and ignore everything else that happened, but that just didn't sit right with me. It probably would have only been a matter of time before things repeated themselves and I would have gotten jealous or upset and lash out against him too. The thought of repeating an endless cycle of drama made me nauseous and I had to stop a moment a take a few deep breaths.

A sudden breeze cooled my warm face and when I lifted my head to appreciate how it felt, I suddenly realized that instead of walking towards my house, my traitorous feet carried me to the one place I had no intention of going. My first and foremost thought was to run away and never look back. Instead, I walked right up the steps and knocked on the door. For a long time there was no answer. It wasn't surprising though. It was well after midnight and all the inhabitants were probably asleep. But right before I was about to leave, there was the sound of footsteps and the door opened.

My mouth went completely dry as we stared at each other. Neither of us said a single word. Several seconds of silence stretched on until I couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out finally. "For everything. I was wrong. Totally wrong. So I'm so so sorry-"

Phoebe suddenly lunged at me, nearly knocking me over as she threw her arms around my waist. Tears of relief fell from my eyes as her tears soaked through my shirt.

"I'm sorry too." She whispered.

It felt like a massive stone weight had been lifted off of my chest. Phoebe and I held each other tightly, crying like a bunch of school girls until we decided to move the sob fest back into her room. We pulled out the cookies, baby carrots, and cartons of ice cream and just laid in her room. I didn't mention Jacob kissing me. It wasn't that I was trying to hide it, I just wanted to enjoy being with my best friend without bothering her with my pointless drama.

"You know, I was terrified that we'd never be able to do this again." I said munching on a carrot. "Next time I blow up on you like that, just whack me on the head with one of your fencing sticks."

Phoebe giggled. "First of all, there are three different kinds of fencing swords and they are called the foil, the epee, and the sabre. Second, I was equally to blame for that fight Helga. I shouldn't have pushed you like I did."

"Pfft, please," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I needed to get some sense beat into me the way I was acting. And at least you were trying to help me. You're always trying to help me out of my own messes."

"I do it because I care about you." Phoebe reached over and grabbed my hand. "I think of you as my sister, Helga. So when you go crazy, I tend to go a little crazy myself."

I closed my eyes against the happy tears that began to spring up. "Thank you Phoebe, for always being there. Through good times and bad."

"That's what you do when you love someone." Phoebe's grip tightened on my hand. "Which is why I think you should talk to Arnold before he leaves tomorrow."

I bolted upright and stared at her in upmost disbelief. "You're kidding me right. Please tell me you're joking."

Phoebe sat up too and stared at me. "I'm afraid I'm dead serious Helga. You two obviously have something special. Volatile but special. You can still work things out with him before it's too late."

"But I don't want to work things out with him." I groaned and flopped back on the bed. "You saw how crazy things got, how many horrible and idiotic decisions I made. I acted like a child, like a teenager instead of an adult."

"Helga, we barely graduated more than a month ago. None of us are adults yet." Phoebe's voice became gentle. "All of us, not just you, will still be making stupid, rash, and overly dramatic decisions for at least another year or so. Growing up is a process, it doesn't happen automatically when you reach a certain age."

More tears started trailing down my eyes and I didn't even bother to wipe them away. I had been crying so much lately that I was beginning to think something was medically wrong with me.

"I messed up so badly." I muttered. "And it's not just about how Arnold feels about me."

"But how do you feel about him?" Phoebe asked. "The most important thing you have to consider is how you feel. Forget about every complication, every insecurity, and consider how you feel about Arnold. Just Arnold."

"I..." I shut my brain off, and every single thought in my head and blurted out the first thing that came to mind when I thought about Arnold. "I love him… but I don't know if I'm ready to be in a relationship with him."

"And that's all that matters." Phoebe said firmly. "And you should tell him exactly that. You don't have to reconcile with him, but you owe it to yourself to clear the air between you two. And you should do it tonight before you lose the nerve."

I groaned and ran my hand down my face in frustration. Of course I was still in love with Arnold, but as crazy as things kept getting between us could we really survive a relationship? At the same time I couldn't lie to myself anymore. Arnold made me happy. When I wasn't making myself miserable of course. Was the adult thing really to openly confront him about everything and live with whatever came next?

"Yes." Phoebe said as if she was reading my mind. "The best way to move beyond this is to tackle it head on."

"Alright." I sat up and took a deep breath. "I tried it my way and messed up. Time for me to take responsibility for everything that happened and talk to him face to face."

Phoebe beamed proudly at me. "That's the strong, mature Helga that I know."

"Thanks Pheebs." I smiled at her as I left. "You're the best."

* * *

Standing in front of the Sunset Arms though, all of Phoebe's comforting words of wisdom vanished, leaving me feeling terrified. What if I acted rashly again? What if my brain misfired and I lash out at him, or worse, try sleeping with him again?

"I won't." I told myself firmly. "I won't."

I then gathered up all the blustering courage I had and rang the doorbell. The sound echoed throughout the house and my heartbeat quickened when I heard footsteps. I braced myself to explain to Phil why I was at his house at nearly one o'clock in the morning, but then my heart suddenly stopped when the door opened and Arnold stood on the other side instead. He was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, but even though there were bags under his eyes, he didn't look like he had been sleeping.

"Helga?" Arnold looked at me in surprise, but didn't seem angry. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I-" I took a deep breath and spoke firmly. "I wanted to talk to you, and apologize about what happened. Can I come in?"

Arnold stood looking at me for a moment and then his shoulders sagged and he stepped aside to let me in.

"Thanks." I mumbled, going inside. "I didn't… wake you did I?"

"No. I was up." Arnold said shortly. He closed the front door and moved passed me towards the kitchen. "I was making myself coffee. You want a cup?"

I nodded and followed him into the kitchen. Taking a seat at the table I watched as he washed out two mugs while full coffee pot boiled.

"How do you take yours?" He asked without looking at me.

"Black."

Arnold gave the tiniest nod and filled the two mugs. He then came over to the table and sat directly across from me, his expression completely unreadable as he slid me my mug. I gave him a small thanks and sipped delicately. I was trying to stall while I gathered the exact words I wanted to say. Arnold just stared into his mug, not speaking or looking at me. I took another deep sip and finally spoke.

"I'm sorry." I said. "About everything. About sending you mixed signals and messages. About the way I handled things between us. And most of all, I'm sorry for not being upfront and honest with you in the first place."

Arnold's head came up and he opened his mouth to say something but I held my hand up to stop him. "No, let me finish. I have to say all of this."

Arnold looked like he wanted to argue but instead he nodded. I slowly lowered my hand and took a deep shaky breath.

"I'm still in love with you." I said in a rush. "I'm still in love with you and it terrifies me. I don't like feeling out of control of my emotions. I don't like not knowing what you're thinking about me, if you're secretly mad at me or pity me. But despite my best efforts, I still find myself falling in love with you over and over again."

Arnold's eyebrows furrowed and he opened his mouth to speak again but I kept talking, ready to finally let everything out.

"The thought of being in any kind of serious relationship scares me." I finally admitted out loud, to him and myself. "Especially now that I'm getting older. It's getting harder to just shut people out completely and I still find myself feeling hurt and sensitive sometimes. Especially with you. You bring out all the worse and best in me. You make me feel more than anyone, good and bad. You make my heart sing, but you also make me scream. I just… I just…"

My voice left me for a moment as all the emotions I was feeling clogged my throat. Arnold sat staring at me, his eyes now wide but his expression still unreadable. I took a moment to compose myself and finished up.

"I won't ask you for a second chance." I said, my voice a little stronger than before. "I don't know if I'm ready for, or deserve a second chance with you. And I completely respect your decision to stay in San Lorenzo after all of this. I just wanted to clear the air between us and… tell you the truth. That's it."

I fell silent, feeling both exhausted and relieved after getting everything out in the open. Arnold was silent too, his eyes again fixated in his coffee. I let the silence hang there for a few more moments before I took a long draught of my coffee and stood.

"Well, goodbye." I said quietly. "I'll let you go to bed now."

I turned away, resolute and calm, but I barely managed to take two steps before Arnold spoke.

"Really Helga?" He said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You're really going to say all that, and once again, not give me a chance to say anything?"

I slowly turned around to look face him again. "What else is there to say? What's done is done."

"Well I have plenty to say." Arnold slowly lifted his eyes to meet mine. "Is that okay?"

A sense of dread made its way through my bloodstream, but I forced myself to walk back to the table anyway. If Arnold wanted to chew me out for all the hell I put him through, then I guess I at least owed him that much. But as I sat there waiting for him to speak, Arnold just went back into staring at his coffee. The awkward levels increased but just when I was about to offer to leave again, Arnold finally spoke.

"I used to hate coffee." He said still not looking at me. "It tasted bitter, it was always too hot, and it's supposed to be really bad for you. Tea just seemed so much better."

I frowned in sudden confusion, completely lost as to what he was talking about.

"But then," Arnold continued, "after trying coffee again, I started to like it. I realized that there were certain blends of coffee that I really liked, to the point where I could drink it straight black. Most people can't stand black coffee, but quite frankly, I'm a little addicted to it."

"Coffee rots your teeth." I mumbled.

"Everything rots your teeth." He responded.

I waited for him to say more, but again Arnold fell silent. I finally let out a breath of frustration and slouched in my seat. "I'm sorry football head, but I'm totally lost. Just what are you trying to tell me?"

The corners of Arnold's lips twitched up and he finally lifted his head to look at me.

"That's really the problem isn't it?" He asked ruefully. "Neither of us saying exactly what we mean or how we feel. Think of how much time and drama we could have saved if we were just honest with each other in the first place."

Arnold then took a deep breath, "I have been a complete and total idiot. I claim to be the one who truly knows you, but I was dense and thoughtless and acted like a moron." He paused before continuing. "From the day I came back I wanted you back, but when you didn't fall into my arms I backed off, afraid that your feelings for me had changed. Gerald tried to get me to ask you outright how you felt, but I always chickened out. I thought I could read you, I expected to already know how you felt."

"And I also need to apologize for expecting you to know how I felt about you," Arnold said shaking his head. "I thought, if I treated you like my girlfriend without making a big deal out of it, you would just fall into it. But even then I was insecure. When I saw Jacob I was afraid you had moved on and I was just making things messy between you two. But at the same time I was too stubborn and thick headed to let you go without a fight. And I'm sorry about the ticket. I should have told you about my citizenship issues earlier but it was complicated and I kept trying to put it off until eventually my parents sent me a plane ticket right before I left. And most of all, I'm sorry for blowing up at you like I did. I was hurt and upset, but that's no excuse for how I treated you."

"We both made mistakes Arnold." I said trying to calm my fluttering heart. I couldn't let myself dwell on what he was saying, things were just too messy now.

"And I don't want to make another one." Arnold took another deep breath and pushed my cup away so he could hold my hands in his. "Helga, I know I messed things up this time, and I know we went through a lot of drama and chaos. But I… I think…I know, that I still love you and I want to give us a second chance. For real this time. No more games, no more insecurities. Just us being honest with each other. And loving each other every day."

Arnold stared at me, a hopeful and fearful expression on his face while I could only stare at him in shock. This was literally the last thing I was expecting. After everything that happened, why in the world would Arnold want to come back to this? And more importantly, did I want to come back to this?

"I can't promise you no more insecurities." I said slowly. "I'm still… trying to get the hang of being comfortable with myself and I still have a nasty temper."

Arnold nodded gravely. "I'm dense and I can be really oblivious. Sometimes I can be completely oblivious to your feelings. But I think we can work past that. I know I'm still willing to try if you are."

Was I willing to try? I looked back at Arnold, his emerald eyes bore into mine and seemed to shine so brightly. A feeling of peace spread over me as I stared at him and I remembered Phoebe's words about the only thing mattering is how I felt. Any other girl who went through all of this would walk away and never look back. Any guy who went through this would never want to give this relationship another go-round. But then again, most people would dump sugar and cream into their coffee instead of drinking straight black. I looked at Arnold over our two cups of bitter black coffee and smiled at him.

"You just love punishment don't you?" I chuckled.

"I love you." Arnold answered immediately.

I bit my lip and looked down at our clasped hands. "If and I mean _if_ I said yes... things would go slowly. We might even have to start at the friendship level."

"I find it incredibly hard to be just friends with you." Arnold sighed and started caressing my knuckles with his thumb. "But I would respect your decision."

"And if I wanted to wait?" I pushed. "It could take me a while before I'm ready to try this again."

"Then I would respect that too." Arnold sighed and gave me a sad smile. "I know I messed things up, but all I want to do is what makes you happy."

"What makes me happy?" I repeated with a smile and laced my fingers with his. "What makes me happy- is being with you. Because I love you."

Arnold smiled in relief and kissed my hands. "I love you too."

 **A/N- There's still an epilogue to come if you're still interested, but that's the end of Coffee. Thank you for reading and be on the look out for the sequel, "Iced Coffee, Hot Tea." In it, Helga, Arnold, Phoebe, and Gerald go through the trials and tribulations of early adult hood and college and you'll find out if Arnold and Helga's tumultuous relationship survives this time. Thanks once again for reading.**


	27. Epilogue

Arnold POV

I stepped into the airport terminal and turned my phone back on, waiting for any new messages to load. It had taken nearly three weeks for everything regarding my American citizenship and overseas birth to be officiated. But now I was finally back in Hillwood again, and this time it was for good.

"I wonder where Gerald is." I mumbled to myself, checking my phone again. "I thought I told him to pick me up at three."

There was so much I needed to take care of, and more importantly, someone I had to see…

"Yo, football head! Get over here! I ain't got all day!"

The sound of _her_ voice made my heart leap into my throat and I looked around in surprise, trying to locate the source. And then my eyes found her and the whole world seemed to fade away. Helga G. Pataki stood waiting for me with her arms folded and an annoyed half scowl on her face. But regardless of her impatient demeanor, a slow smile spread across my lips. Even scowling she looked beautiful with her sun darkened blonde hair hanging messily over her shoulders, and her pink studs glinting in her ears. And as I smiled at her, the scowl melted from her beautiful lips into a soft smile. This was the girl who bugged me into insanity. I felt every kind of emotion when I was with her. Frustration, elation, happiness, nervousness, and the strongest of all, passionate love.

"You going to come over here or were you planning on taking a taxi?" She asked.

"Coming, Helga!" I grinned and began making my way through the crowd of people towards her.

Just before I reached her though, Helga closed the distance and threw her arms around my neck, hugging me close. The breath left my lungs, but I held her just as closely. Her hair smelled like vanilla and her skin smelled like honeydew. I could have held her forever, but Helga suddenly pushed me away, ending the hug just as quickly as she started it.

"What are we just standing around here for?" She grumbled with a small blush. "Let's get your luggage so we can get something to eat. I'm starving."

I chuckled at her sudden bashfulness. "Sounds good to me."

We walked over to the luggage claim, close together but not touching. My hand moved slowly towards hers and I gently brushed my fingers against hers. Helga immediately snatched her hand away from mine, and the blush on her face darkened when she realized what she did.

"Sorry," She mumbled, moving her hand back to mine, "I'm just- um, thinking about stuff."

I smiled and held her hand firmly, lacing our fingers together. "You act like we've never held hands before."

Helga frowned and gave me an annoyed look. "We still haven't had the talk yet."

"I know." I said easily, caressing her knuckles with my thumb. "I'd still like to hold your hand though. If that's okay."

A tiny smile flickered across her face. "If you want to bucko. I guess it wouldn't kill me."

Once we got my luggage we wheeled it out front to the car Helga borrowed from Olga and loaded them into the back. Behind the wheel of the car, Helga became withdrawn and quiet as she drove. To be honest, it made me a little nervous. Helga was someone who wore her emotions plain on her face, but kept her thoughts hidden. It was something that both frustrated and intrigued me. I would have given anything to know what she was thinking, or if she thought about… us.

"So what took you so long?" Helga finally mumbled at a red light. "I didn't think your citizenship would be that bog of an issue."

"I wasn't exactly born under normal circumstances Helga." I explained with a small chuckle. "I was actually born in the middle of the jungle during a volcanic eruption. And since both of my parents were doctors they didn't see the need to take me to the hospital right away. And it just kept getting delayed right until they went away again. They're kind of forgetful sometimes."

"Huh, you never told me that. How come you never told me that?" Helga asked curiously.

"I guess it never crossed my mind." I turned to smile at her. "I guess that's something we get to work on now right?"

Helga bit the corner of her lip and looked distant again. "Right."

My smile fell a little at the coldness of her tone. The nerves in my stomach began twisting in nervousness.

"Hey Helga," I licked my lips nervously, "remember how we agreed to talk more? To be open and honest with each other?"

Helga's knuckles whitened as she turned into the parking lot of Slausen's and put the car in park. "Yeah, I remember. You also agreed to give me until you got back to decide whether or not I was ready for… us."

"Well I'm back now and…" I took a deep breath, placed my hand on top of hers, and looked into her incredibly bright cerulean eyes that seemed to see into my very soul. "Helga, I know we've had our ups and downs, and I know our relationship can get pretty explosive sometimes. But I love you and I think we can make it work between us for real this time. So… what do you say? Are you ready to give us another chance?"

There, I finally said what I should have said when I first came back to Hillwood. It was a relief to put my heart out there for her to destroy it or accept it. But as I waited for Helga's response, and she looked everywhere except at me, a lead weight began to settle in my stomach. What if everything had been too much for her? What if she was too scared to try this crazy relationship again?

"I love you too, and I do want to try this again," Helga finally looked at me with a small, but strangely sad smile, "But… there's something that I think you should know."

I sighed in relief and tightened my grip on her hand. "You can tell me anything Helga."

Again, Helga's eyes flickered around nervously. Finally, they settled on me.

"Arnold," Helga said quietly, "I may have missed my period."

 **A/N- Sorry to be cruel and leave this at a cliffhanger, but I promise you'll get more with the upcoming sequel, "Iced Coffee, Hot Tea". And maybe if I'm feeling extra generous I'll upload a sneak peak. Anyways, thank you so much for reading this and I hope you'll like the sequel too.**


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